Philip Tickner did not provide instructions to employees, witness says

As previously reported, Philip Tickner, 63, of Upper Lanham, Old Alresford, is charged with manslaughter through gross negligence over the death of Philip France, 57, on June 7, 2021. He denies the charge.

At Winchester Crown Court, the jury heard how Tickner had asked Mr France, along with two other farm workers, to dismantle the fibreglass roof of a lean-to shed adjoining a large barn at the 850-acre Upper Lanham Farm, which the defendant runs and partly owns.

Now, two farm workers are saying that Tickner did not provide them with tools or instructions on how to carry out the job.

Thomas Moody, who has worked for Tickner since 2009, said that he and Paul Daubney, a self-employed gardener and handyman, had been asked to work with Mr France (who was known to the two as “Massie”) on dismantling the roof on June 7.

Philip Tickner (Image: NQ)

READ MORE: Farmer accused of manslaughter after worker falls through fragile skylight

Mr Moody, who still works for Tickner, said that the plan was for the three men to start taking the roof off the barn as soon as the workday began at 8am. However, Mr Daubney was running late due to a prior job which had overrun, with Tickner telling Mr Moody and Mr France to start working on the barn at midday while they waited for Mr Daubney to arrive. Mr Moody told the court that despite being asked to help with the roof, neither he or Mr France had any formal training to work at height.

Mr Moody said that he was not shown any paperwork, such as a risk assessment, prior to starting work, and that Tickner did not provide any guidance or equipment to the two men.

The farm worker said: “I understood that we had to start taking the roof off. We could make our own decision from there.

“Phil (Tickner) did not tell us how to get onto the roof and did not tell us what tools to use. He gave us no instruction on how to start removing the slates from the roof.”

Mr Moody said that he and Mr France worked out a system where they would use an angle grinder to cut the tops of the bolts holding the sheets making up the roof to the frame of the building off. They would then put the sheets onto a pallet on a telehandler, with Mr Daubney arriving to help them with the process at approximately 2.15pm. The three men covered the skylight nearest to where the telehandler was located with a fiberglass board, but did not cover the other skylights.

During that time, Mr Moody said he only saw Tickner once, when the farm owner told Mr France to put on safety goggles when he was using the angle grinder, and that the farmer had left at approximately 3.30pm to attend to business on another farm.

Mr Moody went on to say that he did not see Mr France fall through one of the skylights, telling the court: “I heard a crash of broken plastic. We (Mr Moody and Mr Daubney) were in the centre of the closest bay near the telehandler – I was looking off the roof and we were in the process of putting a sheet onto the pallet.

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“We turned round and looked along the roof, we couldn’t see Phil (France). I can’t say I noticed any damage to the roof at that point. We went down the ladder to find Massie – we found him lying on the ground, and Paul (Daubney) asked me to call an ambulance.”

Mr Moody said he then contacted Tickner, saying that he sounded upset at the news of the accident.

Mr Daubney said that the pair found Mr France lying unconscious on his side, with blood coming from his nose, ear and mouth. He attempted to treat Mr France with a first aid kit while emergency services arrived. He died later in hospital.

The trial continues.