Cameron Taylor died when racking collapsed on him at work - inquest

Cameron Taylor, 20, was working for landscaping company, Coombe & Sharpe on the Lillyhall industrial estate in Workington when he died on January 15, 2021.

Mr Taylor’s family described him as a 'proper cheeky chap' with a 'dry sense of humour'. He was the youngest person to captain the open age Kells Rugby League team.

The rugby pitch was where Mr Taylor 'came alive'. He was described as 'slight in build but a fantastic rugby player'.

Cameron Taylor's family said he 'came alive' on the rugby pitch (Image: Ben Challis)

Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard that Mr Taylor died from asphyxia due to crush injuries.

A statement from Alan Sharpe of Coombe & Sharpe, said Mr Taylor worked alongside yard manager, Philip Duggan, as his assistant.

On January 15, 2021, Mr Duggan had rushed into the office and said Mr Taylor was stuck in the cabin where he had been unloading timber.

He was unresponsive and Mr Sharpe carried out CPR until a paramedic arrived. Mr Sharpe said he could remember pleading for Mr Taylor to pull through.

Mr Sharpe said: "I am devastated at the events of that day. I think of Cameron every day. He was a great lad. This will live with me forever."

The inquest heard evidence from office manager, Helen Sharpe, who said: “We are desperately sorry for what happened.

"We thought the world of Cameron. He was a superstar. Cameron showed such aptitude and such great skill. We saw a great future for him.”

Mrs Sharpe said Mr Taylor had been working for Coombe & Sharpe since June 2020.

Cameron Taylor was working at Coombe & Sharpe on the Lillyhall industrial estate when he tragically died (Image: Google Street View)

She said Mr Duggan, an experienced joiner with 30 years' experience, was 'passing on his skill to Cameron' and there was a lot of 'hands-on' work.

Describing the events of January 15, 2021, Mrs Sharpe said she had entered the cabin and could see Mr Taylor’s hi-vis jacket but couldn't see his face because there was 'such a lot of timber on top of him'.

She had phoned emergency services and a paramedic arrived 'very quickly'.

The inquest also heard evidence from Mr Duggan, who described himself as an 'old school tradesman'.

He said: “I have had four apprentices in my time. Sadly, Cameron will be the last.

"He was so keen to learn. I am so proud to have had the opportunity to teach him what I did. He thrived on it.

"He was amazing. I have never met a young person with so much drive for life and thirst for knowledge.

"I saw so much potential in him."

Mr Taylor had built racking for holding long-lengths of timber, under the supervision of Mr Duggan, the day before he died.

Mr Duggan said: "I was confident that he knew what he was doing. It was the first time he had ever built something like that."

Mr Duggan said he carried out a visual inspection of the racking after it had been installed in the cabin and saw no defects. He said he carried out a ‘wobble test’.

Mr Taylor had then loaded the middle shelf with timber.

When Mr Duggan was asked how he ensured that the shelves weren’t overloaded, he replied: "Just experience and a bit of common sense”.

He said he checked the racking after Mr Taylor had loaded the middle shelf and 'everything looked ok'.

Mr Duggan said he had no concerns about the amount of wood on the middle shelf. He said it was 'sitting flat and level' and 'everything looked and seemed fine.'

Mr Taylor had been tasked with loading up the bottom rack the following day.

Mr Duggan said they normally stopped for a morning break at 10am. He said he went into the cabin and found Mr Taylor 'half in the rack'.

He said there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Taylor had dropped something in the racking and climbed into it.

Mr Duggan said the shelves were built to each hold up to 30 lengths of wood weighing up to half a tonne.

But the Health and Safety Executive found there were 111 lengths of wood on the shelf that collapsed, weighing two tonnes.

Mr Duggan said he probably hadn’t designed the racking to hold two tonnes of weight.

The inquest continues.