A LORRY driver was killed instantly when a crane he was operating came into contact with 11,000-volt cables.

Anthony Milani, 26, was electrocuted at an industrial estate off West Horton Lane in Bishopstoke.

An inquest in Winchester today (Wednesday, June 3) heard that cable warning signs were removed a few weeks earlier.

It also emerged that Mr Milani, who worked for Newbury-based Harris Roofing, parked his flatbed truck in the wrong place.

He was visiting SBM Flat Roofing. A statement from its managing director, Karl Monckton, said he asked for deliveries in the yard.

While Harris Roofing’s other drivers did so, he said Mr Milani had previously parked outside and craned items into the yard.

He did so again on August 14, 2007, the day that he died, the inquest heard.

Paul Woodward, a Harris Roofing employee, said he spent several days showing Mr Milani how the crane worked. He added that he warned him about the overhead cables.

“The cables weren’t an issue if you were inside the yard, as there’s no way you could have got anywhere near them,” he said.

Nobody witnessed the crane striking the cables, the inquest heard.

Wayne Carter, who works nearby, was the first to investigate after the power in his workshop failed.

He found Mr Milani face down beside the truck with no pulse. Paramedics were called, but they could not revive him.

In a statement, Mr Carter said there used to be warning signs about the cables on a nearby fence.

However, the panels were replaced a few weeks before the death, and new signs were not installed.

Petar Vujanic from the Health and Safety Executive said: “There’s no doubt in my mind that if the signs had been there they may well have helped to prevent it.”

The HSE is still deciding whether to prosecute anyone over the death.

Jurors returned a verdict of accidental death on Mr Milani, who lived at Greenacres in Woolton Hill, Newbury.

Central Hampshire coroner, Grahame Short, offered condolences to the family.