Father of toddler struck by tractor found not guilty of manslaughter
6th February 2025
The father of a three-year-old boy who died after being struck by a small tractor on a Tottington farm has been cleared of manslaughter.
Neil Speakman from Bury, Greater Manchester, was accused of gross negligence manslaughter following an accident that happened in the summer of 2022.
The man has recently been found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter by jurors at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
Tragic accident
The court heard that the man had reversed the telehandler into his son in a yard outside a small garden area that lay in front of their farmhouse on Bentley Hall Road in Walshaw, BBC News reported.
Jurors were told that the boy had been left by his father to play in the area.
Mr Speakman said that while the telehandler had been missing a wing mirror, he would “check profusely” for blind spots. He said he did not see his son.
While giving evidence earlier in the trial, Mr Speakman said: “If I thought for a single second he wasn’t on that grass, I wouldn’t have moved that stupid thing.”
He also told the court he had “stopped instantly” after feeling a bump.
According to BBC News, the prosecution concluded the area Albie had been playing in was insecure, and that the telehandler had various defects.
Mr Speakman told prosecutor John Elvidge KC that it had been a “tragic accident” and he had “made a mistake”.
The man admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, failing to ensure the health and safety of his son.
Loved by everybody
In a statement issued at the time of his death, Albie’s mother, Leah, said: “Albie was an incredibly loving, affectionate and caring boy who just wanted everyone to be happy. He was so sensitive and wanted everyone to be OK, especially the people that he loved.
“I will miss absolutely everything about Albie – his voice, his smile, the smell of his skin and the feel of his little hands on my face when he would say, ‘I love you, mummy girl.’”
Read more rural news.
