A HAMPSHIRE farmer who was cleared of manslaughter after the case against him collapsed has been handed a suspended sentence for two separate charges. 

Wearing a grey jumper and checked shirt, Philip Tickner, 63, of Upper Lanham, did not react as Mrs Justice Eady sentenced him to a six-month suspended sentence over a period of a year and a half for health and safety breaches.

Tickner had also been charged with manslaughter after his employee, Philip France, fell through the roof of a cowshed while working and died, but this was voided after an expert witness gave evidence that led to its collapse.

During sentencing, the judge took into account Tickner's character references, and said: "Having read all the character references on your behalf [...] it is clear you are a good man who made a terrible mistake."

READ MORE: Philip Tickner trial: Farmer not guilty of manslaughter

Upper Lanham Farm where Mr France fell through the roof of a shed (Image: Google) She added: "In your case, I take into account the punishment you have already suffered."

Mrs Justice Eady also described the dynamics of the day Mr Francis died, when Tickner had trusted another experienced employee, Paul Daubney, would have ensured his colleagues' safety.

She said: "I accept that you believe that [Mr Daubney] was well aware of the equipment and the safety measures available. You assumed Mr Daubney would institute a safe system of work while removing the shed roof. You were wrong.

"Simply describing the work carried out makes clear the obvious risks from stumbling, slipping or tripping. The fact that this unsafe process was being carried out ought reasonably to have alerted you to the absence of safeguards."

The farmer had previously pleaded guilty to two health and safety charges in relation to the death of Mr France, who was 57 when he fell to his death in June 2021 while dismantling a roof on Tickner's family-run farm at Upper Lanham near Old Alresford.

A statement by Mr France's sister was read out during prosecutor Mark Watson KC's summary. Joanna Cresswell, who was watching the sentencing via video link, told how her brother, a farm contractor, was popular in the area around Alresford and spent his free time socialising in the local pub.

She said: "He would go out of his way to help anyone who needed him."

Mrs Cresswell also recounted the experience of her other brother, Nick, when he saw Philip in hospital after the three-metre fall: "Seeing your brother on a life support machine with a very worrying prognosis is something you hope not to have to do."

SEE ALSO: Philip Tickner trial: Hampshire farmer accused of manslaughter

She added: "It was a deeply distressing time for us all, especially our elderly mother. The fact that Mr Tickner carried on as if nothing had happened [...] makes it so much worse. We are aware genuine accidents do happen, and if that had been the case it would have been so much easier to bear."

Mitigating, Malcolm Galloway, said: "Mr Tickner was devastated at the death of someone he regarded as a friend, and that was plain when he gave evidence."

He added: "It is unusual, to say the least, that the prosecution calls an expert that they say is going to be of such status that the jury will find the defendant guilty [...] and then simply discard them."

The trial began on October 3 and ended today,  October 18.