Mum's four heart wrenching words after 'keen little farmer' killed in garden accident

A mum has shared four heartbreaking words after her four-year-old "keen little farmer" died from traumatic head injuries while playing in his garden, an has heard.

Maldwyn "Gwern" Evans was found dead in the garden of his Tynreithin farm home in on June 20, following an accident in which "there was no human control", Coroner Peter Brunton concluded during an Aberystwyth inquest. Gwern was found by his , Sian Eleri Evans, who called emergency services to the family farm near Tregaron.

The mum said in a statement that she was in the kitchen while the four-year-old and his sister were outside eating ice creams when she heard a "thud". Fearing it was the vintage garden roller, which weighed between 50kg to 60kg and had been an ornament for two years before the incident, she rushed outside.

READ MORE:

She called emergency services at 4.30pm, and an air ambulance arrived 17 minutes later, finding the boy on the patio having suffered what they diagnosed as a traumatic cardiac arrest from catastrophic traumatic brain injury. In a written statement read out at the inquest, Ms Evans said she believed her "inquisitive" son "thought he was rolling a field".

The statement read: "As I was in the kitchen I heard a thud and instantly thought it'd been the roller and ran out. I had never seen Gwern play with the roller before but he was quite inquisitive. I can imagine he thought he was rolling a field. He was strong and determined and if he wanted to do something I could imagine he would have got it moving.

"He hadn't seen us using it before but seen other machinery used on the farm." Though medics tried resuscitation at the scene, Gwern was unresponsive. The coroner concluded the most likely scenario was that Gwern pushed the roller from behind and was carried forward as the roller began down the garden slope.

He concluded that Gwern was then flipped over by the roller on its landing on the patio, causing him to strike his head on the concrete.

Mrs Evans told the inquest: "The loss is unimaginable, not only for myself, his father and sister but to my wider family and friends. This is shown in the fundraising done in his name to go to the Welsh Air Ambulance and his school to create a school farm."

The coroner concluded: "On the balance of probabilities Gwern had indeed been able to push the roller from behind using the handle like anyone else would. The supposition must be that Gwern held onto it, possibly realising what was going on... Had he let go we may not be here this afternoon.

"His pluckiness therefore may have played a hand in this." Closing the case, he said: "The loss of a child is the most devastating thing that can happen to a parent. It is every parent's nightmare to outlive your children. I can only offer you my most profound condolences and sympathies.”