Bin worker died as he got caught in lorry equipment

A jury inquest into the death of David Carpenter is being held in Coventry

A grandfather suffered fatal injuries when he got caught in a bin lorry's compaction equipment, a jury has heard.

David Carpenter, 60, who had worked as a refuse collector since he was 18, was critically injured while on a round in Coventry.

It happened on Guild Road in the Foleshill area at about 10:00 GMT on 19 January 2023.

An inquest into his death was resumed by area coroner Delroy Henry.

Mr Carpenter, a Coventry City Council employee, was responsible for collecting bins from the side of the road and emptying them into the lorry, the inquest heard.

Mr Henry told jurors that CCTV captured the moment Mr Carpenter got caught in the lifting equipment at the back of the lorry.

His fatal injuries were caused by the vehicle's automatic compaction mechanism, the coroner added.

He was responsible for collecting bins from the side of the road and taking them to the bin lorry to empty them

Proceedings began with a pen portrait from Mr Carpenter's stepdaughter Claire Chetwynd, who described him as a warm, humble and loving family man.

As well as being a refuse collector he most enjoyed fishing, dancing and playing with his grandchildren, Ms Chetwynd said.

A pen portrait revealed David Carpenter was a keen fisherman

“He had a huge heart,” she said.

“It’s devastating sitting here talking about him in the past tense and knowing he won’t be able to share any of our memories that we make going forward."

Ms Chetwynd added she hoped the inquest would help the family gain answers into how Mr Carpenter died and how this could be prevented in the future.

The driver of the waste collection vehicle said he did not realise what had happened

Rafal Gancarz, who was driving the Dennis Eagle truck on the round, told the court it continued to function correctly.

Mr Gancarz, an employee of Tom White Waste Management, who had been in the role for about a year, said the route taken by himself, Mr Carpenter and another bin loader was different to the one he was used to.

He told jurors his vision had been affected by sunlight, meaning he struggled to see his mirrors and a monitor showing him the vehicle's rear.

The driver said he could not see exactly where his two colleagues were and didn't realise something had happened until he heard shouting.

"I couldn't hear who was shouting or what was being shouted for," Mr Gancarz said.

Training questions

He told the court he had been trained as a loader and driver.

CCTV footage showed the two loaders with their backs to the vehicle's lifting equipment, something the inquest heard they should have been trained not to do.

It also showed the bin continuing to move forward while Mr Carpenter was at its rear.

Mr Gancarz said drivers routinely continued going forward even when they couldn't see both loaders in their wing mirrors.

Simon Hilton, representing manufacturer Dennis Eagle, said: "I'm going to suggest that on the day in question there were a number of things going on that were not part of the training."

Mr Gancarz said operatives attempted to do the job correctly.

While he denied anybody was in a hurry that morning, he said workers could sometimes be in a rush and had to work quickly to service thousands of properties during a shift.

"We try to do and work how the book says, or how we've been told, but sometimes... we are in a hurry," he said.

"It might be anything. It might be [an] ambulance on the way, it might be police.

"There are many situations. There are so many dangers [we have] as loaders and drivers."

The inquest, which is expected to last for eight days, had been due to begin on Monday but jury issues meant it officially started a day later.