A RISHTON grandad died after being trapped in a mechanical digger in a farmyard accident.
Tony Taylor, 66, a retired company director, was driving a Bobcat with a metal "bucket" on the front at his home at Windy Bank Farm, on Whalley Old Road, Rish-ton, at around 3.40pm on Sunday.
He was found by a neighbouring farmer, Robert Douglas, who raised the alarm.
He said Mr Taylor was trapped in the vehicle, which was against the wall of a cow shed, and appeared to be already dead.
The air ambulance was mobilised but Mr Taylor, who was extremely well known in Rishton, was declared dead at the scene.
Police have taken away the Bobcat to examine it for possible faults.
It was initially thought Mr Taylor may have suffered a heart attack.
But an inquest into Mr Taylor’s death which opened on Wednesday, revealed that a post-mortem examinationshowed the cause of death to be asphyxia due to a compression injury to the neck and chest.
The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the incident.
Mr Taylor, who, along with his brother, Alan, founded Truseal, a mastic application firm, leaves his wife Kathleen, daughter Suzanne Bellard, son-in-law Andrew and four grandchildren, Alex, 17, Sam, 15, Joshua, nine, and William, seven.
Mrs Bellard said the family were devastated by her father’s death.
He had been planting tomato plants in his greenhouse and was using the Bobcat to bring manure from a muck tip.
She said: "My dad was very well known in Rishton and we are very grateful for all the sympathy that has been shown by his many friends."
Mr Bellard described Mr Taylor as a "larger-than life" character who always had a joke to tell and was generous to a fault.
He added: "He will be sadly missed, not just by his family but by the many, many people who had the privilege of enjoying his company."
