Men crushed to death by hay bales, inquest hears

An inquest into the deaths of two men has opened at Peterborough Town Hall

Two men died on a farm after being crushed by hay bales, an inquest has heard.

Brian Abbs, 71, and Lee Abbs, 44, were at a private shoot at Hainey Farm in Soham, Cambridgeshire, when the incident took place.

An inquest into the deaths was opened earlier at Peterborough Town Hall by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough coroner Simon Milburn.

He confirmed the two men, understood to be father and son, were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Emergency services, including East of England Ambulance Service, were called at 13:50 GMT on 2 March.

“Lee Abbs and Brian Abbs were among a number of people attending the shoot,” Mr Milburn told the the inquest.

“Mr Lee Abbs was crushed by falling hay bales. His death was confirmed by the paramedics at the scene.

“As per Brian Abbs, circumstances were the same and he was also pronounced dead by paramedics at 14:20 GMT.”

An initial post-mortem report carried out at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge, concluded the deaths were caused by crush asphyxia, the inquest heard.

Both the cases have now been adjourned to a later date.