A DAD-of-seven was crushed to death by a bull at his own family farm, an inquest has heard.
Dedicated farmer Maldwyn Harries, 58, was found dead after tending the animals at his countryside cattle business.
Police were called to the farm by his family but badly-injured Mr Harries was found dead at the scene.
Mr Harries was crushed after being pinned against a wall while helping to gather the cattle for a TB test.
The inquest heard "best efforts" were made to save him by emergency responders which included giving him a blood transfusion.
A post-mortem examination found he died from multiple traumatic injuries to his chest, abdomen and spinal column.
Mr Harries had been testing a herd for the disease with his son Mark, other members of his family and a local veterinarian on September 23, 2022.
Simon Breen, an inspector with the Health and Safety Executive. said: "He had to enter a cattle stall in an attempt to move one bull towards a cattle crush – a cage that holds large animals while they are inspected for the TB test.”
Mr Breen said that "normally the bull could be coaxed by leaning over the railing from an adjacent stall and tapping his nose.”
But the animal refused to move on that occasion and crushed Mr Harries. It was subsequently destroyed after testing positive for TB.
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Mr Breen confirmed the farm had all the "correct equipment" for the test.
The tragedy which happened at his farm in Penybanc, near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, is being investigated for the coroner to hold an inquest.
Mr Harries was well known in the farming community – and was described as "salt of the earth."
Hundreds of well-wishers gave their condolences on his daughter Nia's Facebook profile, calling Maldwyn a "true gent".
Llandeilo town councillor Christoph Fischer said everyone in the area had been shocked and saddened by the sudden death.
“I was very shocked to learn about this heart-breaking tragedy,” he said. “The Harries family is at the heart of the Llandeilo and Penybanc community and we’re all saddened that Maldwyn lost his life. He will be greatly missed.”
Coroner Paul Bennett recorded a conclusion of accidental death at the Llanelli inquest.
The coroner said it was a sad example of an "unusual and infrequent occasion" when somebody doing "valuable work as part of the farming community" had lost their life.
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He said Mr Harries "had not anticipated the fatal consequences" of his actions.
The coroner told Mr Harries' family at the inquest that "he couldn't imagine the impact" of losing him and "dealing with the ongoing situation" of dealing with TB on the farm.
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