Teen not qualified to fell tree that killed him, inquest hears

An apprentice tree surgeon died after being crushed by a tree he was not qualified to fell, an inquest has heard.

Jonty Parkinson, who was the nephew of England legend Gary Lineker, had been working in woodland on a National Trust site near Faringdon, in Oxfordshire.

On 6 September 2024, the 18-year-old, from Cirencester, died from crush injuries to his abdomen, caused after a tree he partially felled with a chainsaw did not fall in the intended way.

A jury inquest was told the teenager and his colleague Joe Bristow had used an assisted felling technique for which neither were qualified.

The tree in question, which was 1m (3ft) in diameter, had already had its crown removed and the plan had been for its main stem to be felled into the woodland, the inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court heard.

It was tied to a chipper to support its direction of fall, which jurors were told was not usual practice.

Bristow said he had been advised to use the technique by a senior manager at the pair's employer, the Cotswold Group, despite neither possessing assisting felling tickets.

He told jurors the pair had agreed to do a safety cut to help fell the tree, and Parkinson would step away before Bristow used ropes to pull it over.

The tree then fell in the wrong direction, at which point, Bristow said he realised Parkinson was underneath it.

A local resident said in a statement they had heard the tree fall, with Bristow running to their house to call emergency services "almost immediately" after.

The resident said they then ran towards the site with Bristow, where they saw Parkinson pinned under a large tree.

Bristow, who was "white in the face and shaking", then stood up and said "he's gone, he's gone", the local resident added.

Parkinson was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest heard that Bristow had been slightly more experienced than Parkinson, but only had certificates to remove medium sized trees - those up to 0.72m (2.4ft) in diameter - at the time of the incident.

An expert opinion given as part of the joint investigation by Thames Valley Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had deemed that operational practices were not sufficient, jurors were told.

Police concluded their investigation and opted not seek criminal prosecutions, with the HSE now leading inquiries.

Parkinson had been an apprentice at the Cotswold Group since October 2022, and was nearing the end of his qualification when the incident took place.

In a statement from a current employee of the firm, which was read to jurors by the coroner Darren Salter, they said staff had since undergone refresher training and additional courses in assisted felling.

Parkinson was the nephew of Michelle Cockayne, Gary Lineker's first wife, with whom the former Match of the Day host has four children.

Following his death, Lineker's sons Tobias and George both paid tribute to their cousin, calling him "one of the nicest boys you'll meet".

Parkinson's mother, Ali Cockayne, was also previously in a relationship with former England rugby union captain Will Carling, with whom she shares a son.

The jury inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court is expected to last three days.