A DAD who ran over and killed his three-year-old son with a “broken” farm vehicle has been jailed over the tragedy.
Little Albie suffered catastrophic head injuries in the horror at 39-year-old dad Neil Speakman’s farm in Bury, Greater Manchester.
The collision happened in a yard next to a small garden area at the front of the farmhouse in Bentley Hall Road, Walshaw.
Speakman was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter but pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
He has now been jailed for one year after accepting he failed to ensure Albie’s health and safety at his farm.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard the tragedy unfolded at around midday on July 16, 2022.
Albie stayed at Speakman’s farm on alternate weekends after his mum and dad split up shortly after he was born.
He had been playing unsupervised in a small garden when he wandered into the “unfenced” area where Speakman was working.
His dad was driving a telehandler machine that was missing a wing mirror and that he had no training for at the time, it was said.
A health and safety inspector found the machine had various mechanical defects that hindered safe operation.
While being interviewed by police, Speakman said: “[Albie] knew, he weren’t stupid…it’s a farm isn’t it?
“It’s not a playground and Albie knew it weren’t, he knew his boundaries.
“He knew where to go and where not to go and what to go near and what not to go near.”
In his evidence, Speakman broke down as he told jurors: “I shouldn’t have to do this. It’s f****** not fair.”
He admitted “I messed up, I made a mistake” and called the horror a “tragic accident”.
Asked to describe what happened, Speakman said: “You felt a bump instantly. I had travelled 10cm, 20cm…I stopped instantly. It was a split second.
“I looked right and saw his legs, and jumped off.”
Albie’s mum Leah Bridge previously spoke of her heartache after discovering her son had been killed.
She told how she refused to move anything for months – including a bowl of cereal the youngster had used that morning.
Leah still heartbreakingly carries one of her little boy’s unwashed jumpers around with her everywhere she goes.
She said she had dropped Albie off at his dad’s, who looked after him on alternate weekends, at around 9am.
Her last words to her three-year-old were in the car, when the pair said “bye” to each other.
Leah said: “I think ‘what might he have seen?
“What might he have said? Was he scared?’ I don’t know because I wasn’t there.”
The mum also said she was “so disappointed” in the verdict” after Speakman was cleared and claimed her little boy was “let down”.
