A SKIP loader which crushed a father of six to death was missing vital safety features, a court has ruled.
Ken Pinkerton, 47, was working in a garden in Juniper Close, Woodhatch, on September 26, 2011, when the digger he was using overturned.
When he tried to use a skip loader to upright the digger, it reversed over some garden waste and also turned over, throwing Mr Pinkerton from his seat and crushing him.
The landscape gardener died of his injuries en route to the hospital.
At Guildford Crown Court on Friday, self-employed businessman Brian Beavis – who had rented the equipment to Mr Pinkerton – was given a suspended jail sentence for supplying unsafe equipment.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the prosecution, found the loader had no seat belt and the roll-over protection – a frame which should protect the driver in the event the vehicle overturns – was not working.
Passing sentence, Recorder Cairns Nelson QC said: "It is just tragic that six children lost their dad.
"The deceased would likely have survived had there been a seatbelt and rollover bar."
Beavis, who traded as Heavy Plant Repairs in Nash Road, Canterbury, Kent, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 .
He was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered to pay £10,000 compensation to Mr Pinkerton's family.
Both the digger and the skip loader were hired from Beavis, who had also failed to supply user information.
After sentencing, HSE inspector Amanda Huff said: "Brian Beavis could have prevented the incident.
"Had the machine had a working seat belt and functioning roll-over protection, it is probable Mr Pinkerton would have survived."
Mr Pinkerton's partner, Karen Checksfield, has talked about the impact his death had on their six children – who were aged between 5 and 17 at the time. "Five of the children are still having counselling," she said. "I am concentrating on getting the children through this tough time. "The main thing is Ken is no longer here. He was my best friend and would support me emotionally. "I miss so much not being able to talk to him about things. I can't put into words how I feel."