A FATHER-OF-TWO from Herefordshire was killed in a tragic accident when he was crushed between a forklift and a lorry, causing severe internal injuries, a coroner has concluded.

The inquest into the death of Gavin Loris was heard at Hereford Coroner's Court on October 23. His family were in court for the hearing.

The court heard that Mr Loris, from Tedstone Wafre near Bromyard, was the owner of a furniture company. He had been using a property at Woodend Farm in Cradley for retail storage. 

On the morning of his death, July 28 this year, Mr Loris was at the farm with his son and daughter, and the three of them were transferring empty pallets from a large delivery lorry to a forklift.

He was using a different forklift from usual and had parked it without using the handbrake. When Mr Loris was standing between the lorry and the forklift, the forklift rolled forward and trapped him. He was crushed between the two vehicles.

Mr Loris' son, Adam Loris, quickly reversed the forklift and began trying to revive his father with CPR. The air ambulance was called and paramedics arrived 17 minutes later, with police arriving after around six minutes. 

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But Mr Loris had suffered severe internal injuries and sadly nothing could be done to save him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Coroner Mark Bricknell said: "Life is so precious. One minute it's normal and suddenly it's all so different. These are tragic circumstances and I have no option but to hold an inquest."

The coroner concluded that Mr Loris' death was accidental and was caused by multiple injuries and trauma to his chest.