Father, 26, cheats death after five hay bales each weighing 600kg toppled and ... trends now
A young father cheated death after when he was crushed by five hay bales each weighing 600kg, leaving him seriously injured.
Christopher Rolfe said he was 'lucky to come away with just a broken hip and leg fractures' following the horror incident at Polesden Lacey Farm, Surrey in April 2022.
Then aged 26, Mr Rolfe had entered a barn to collect bales that were being delivered to local customers.
As he was removing the pallets to reach the stack of bales, an entire column of five toppled over and crushed him against the floor.
Mr Rolfe, from Horsham, West Sussex, lay trapped screaming for help until a nearby dog walker heard his cries and alerted the emergency services.
He was airlifted to hospital after fracturing four ribs, a hip and an ankle. His employer was fined £36,000 and was ordered to pay Mr Rolfe costs of £4,986 after pleading guilty to breaching safety regulations.
Christopher Rolfe got away with just a broken hip and leg fractures after being crushed by a column of 600kg hay bales
The horror accident occurred as Mr Rolfe was removing pallets to remove a stack when a pile of five bales gave way and collapsed on him
Mr Rolfe underwent emergency surgery before starting months of rehabilitation in order to regain his mobility
The farmer underwent emergency surgery before starting months of rehabilitation in order to regain his mobility to start walking again and caring for his then four-year-old son.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) probe was opened in the aftermath and, last week, farming partnership F Conisbee and Sons Ltd was fined £36,000 and ordered to pay £4,986 in costs at Staines Magistrates' Court.
The bales had been stored on a layer of pallets to keep them off the barn floor, which was damp at the time, the investigation found.
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The company, of Ockham Road South, East Horsley, Surrey, had pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 10 (4) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Following the verdict, Mr Rolfe said: 'I was a stereotypical young man in agriculture.
'I always thought I'd be fine - as long as I got to drive a quarter of a million pound tractor down the road with everyone looking at me.
'Now that's the last thing on my mind. I very much look at every piece of machinery in front of me and think
