Boy, nine, crushed by water tank in ‘freak accident’ on family farm

A nine-year-old boy was crushed to death by a water tank in a freak accident, an inquest was told.

Tomos Bunford died when the family-of-five were feeding their cattle together on their farm in Blaenllechau in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales.

The three children and their parents had been travelling in a pick-up truck taking water to their cows in September 2021 when it started to slide down the field.

Rhys Bunford, 36, and his wife Louise, 38, feared the truck towing the water bowser would fall over the cliff at the end of the farmland and told their children to get out.

Tomos, his older brother Gethin and baby sister Clemmie managed to escape from the doors but the water bowser hurtled towards Tomos and hit him. He died of blunt force injury to the chest and abdomen.

Mr Bunford told the inquest in Pontypridd that Tomos “loved his computers and YouTubing”.

He said: “When we used to go to the markets he used to have a pet cow.

“We bought this little calf for him and he used to walk it with a lead around the yard.

“We looked one day and he had little electric razors and was cutting its hair – he was comical like that.”

Describing the accident, Mrs Bunford said: “We could hear the panic in the children’s voices. They were asking us what they should do.”

She managed to push Tomos clear of the doors and said: “I went under the wheels with a baby on my chest.”

She then saw the water tank come towards her: “I thought if anyone was going to go it was me.”

As she screamed she saw Gethin and threw baby Clemmie to her big brother, who then pulled her up.

Mr Bunford added: “I made the decision that we should all get out.

“If the truck had gone over the cliff at the bottom of the field, we could have all died.”

He turned around as the children got out of the truck before he saw the water bowser hit Tomos.

Emergency services rushed to the scene but could not save Tomos and he was pronounced dead two hours later.

Braking system defective

The inquest heard that the towing vehicle was being driven in four-wheel drive in a low gear and no seatbelts were in operation at the time.

It concluded that there were no mechanical faults to the vehicle but the trailer’s braking system was defective.

Assistant Coroner Gavin Knox said the outing “was a normal routine task that Tomos often did with his family” and that his death was accidental.

The youngster, who played for Pontypridd rugby club under-10s, was laid to rest under his favourite tree on the family farm.

The family now hope to raise awareness of farm safety.

Mr Bunford said: “We want the farming community to learn from us losing Tomos. You can’t be over-cautious. Ask yourself what the risks are from doing any job.”