Former Devon UKIP candidate's 'cost-cutting' killed workman

Keith Crawford stood as a candidate for UKIP in the 2015 general election

A workman was killed after a trench he was digging next to a swimming pool owned by a former UKIP candidate caved in on him, a court has heard.

Labourer Peter Clements died days after being crushed by the earth.

Exeter Crown Court heard that Keith Crawford, 73, refused to hire safety equipment for the job because it was too expensive.

Mr Crawford, of Ide, Devon, denies gross negligence manslaughter and failing to ensure an employee's safety.

He said he paid Mr Clements £3,600 to do the work and that he was a self-employed builder who was responsible for his own safety.

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The 48-year-old labourer suffered several broken ribs and other crush injuries and died from cardiac arrest in hospital three days after trying to escape from the 9ft (2.7m) trench on Mr Crawford's land near Exeter.

The jury heard the metre-wide excavation had no sheets or wooden box to support the sides and collapsed on Mr Clements during heavy rain in January 2015.

Mr Clements was working with his son Ryan, who escaped and tried to save his father by pulling him out with a strap around his chest attached to a digger arm.

'Too expensive'

Stephen Mooney, prosecuting, said Mr Crawford insisted work digging the trench continued in heavy rain despite concerns raised by Mr Clements and digger driver Ross Phillips.

He said: "The reason he gave for not using a trench box was that it was too expensive. That is not a legitimate reason not to put safety measures in place."

The prosecution said Mr Crawford owned a number of properties and effectively employed Mr Clements as a maintenance man working up to six days a week, paying him cash in hand.

Mr Crawford, a former soldier, was the UKIP candidate for Exeter in the 2010 and 2015 general elections, losing to Labour's Ben Bradshaw on both occasions.

The trial continues.