A WORKMAN died after he fell three metres from a trailer and was struck on the head by an 80kg steel pole, an inquest heard yesterday.

David Robert Applegarth, of Lawson Street, Darlington, died on Tuesday, April 15, after an accident at Finley Structures, on Aycliffe Industrial Estate, in County Durham.

The 33-year-old had used a crane to load steel fabrications on a trailer for delivery.

When wagon driver Keith Barnes, of Sunderland firm GPS Distribution, called to collect the trailer, Mr Applegarth was loading the last few bracings, 20ft steel poles, on to the truck.

Mr Barnes said: "One was not lined up with the others, so we got on the trailer to straighten it.

"When he picked one end up, it rolled off and went under his leg, pulling him off the trailer.

"He fell to the floor and when the first pole fell, it knocked off a second, which landed on top of him."

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Company director Peter Jefferson said Mr Applegarth was experienced in loading wagons, and that a risk assessment of the task had been done.

He said: "It was usual practice to tie bracings together or place square blocks either side of a trailer to prevent falls."

Adrian Penn, a Health and Safety Executive Inspector, said it appeared Mr Applegarth had taken neither precaution.

Consultant pathologist Dr Don Senadhira told the inquest, at Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court, that Mr Applegarth died of head injuries.

A trace of cannabis was found in his system, but it was impossible to say whether he was affected by it, as it could have been taken a week before the accident.

The jury found a verdict of accidental death