A Fishguard farmer who was found dead in a concrete cattle bath may have been knocked in by one of his own livestock an inquest heard this week.
Fifty-six-year-old David Mansel Owen, of Dwrbach, Scleddau, was found submerged in water in a cattle trough on his family farm on the afternoon of August 17, an inquest into his death at Milford Haven town hall heard on Thursday.
Coroner’s Officer for Dyfed Powys Police, Jeremy Davies, told the inquest that Mr. Owen lived on the family farm with his sister, where he had started working in 1977 after their father passed away.
Mr. Owen was last seen by his sister at 7.50 am on August 17, when he went out to work on the farm, but by lunchtime she found it strange that he had not returned to the farm house.
Neighbours conducted a search for Mr. Owen and eventually found him submerged in water laying on the left side of a concrete cattle bath under a tap.
Police officers and firefighters that arrived on the scene tried to move Mr. Owen as he was stuck, but life was pronounced extinct shortly before 3 pm.
Although there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr. Owen’s death, Pembrokeshire Coroner, Mark Layton told the inquest that it had not been established as to how he had become submerged in the trough.
“It could be that cattle knocked him into the trough or that he suffered a medical emergency,” he said, explaining that there were no significant injuries apart from two small grazes to Mr. Owen’s head that would have occurred when he fell into the cattle bath.
Mr. Layton told the inquest that a post-mortem report stated that Mr. Owen died of unnatural causes, before delivering a verdict of drowning as the cause of death.
“The circumstances are not determined, but are consistent with accidental death,” added Mr. Layton.