A 78-year-old farmer died after being submerged by grain in a storage silo, an inquest has heard. John Edwards was found inside the 20ft (7m) deep silo at Rishangles Lodge in Thorndon, Suffolk, on 14 February.
A farm worker discovered Mr Edwards and tried to dig him out with his hands, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical cause of death was traumatic asphyxia caused by compression of the chest.
Mr Edwards had lived and worked at the farm near Eye for 66 years. His wife Susan told the inquest she left him doing a crossword and eating a chocolate éclair, his favourite lunch, and that he was 'perfectly OK' at the time.
When she could not find him later, she raised the alarm. Farm worker Christopher Zagni found Mr Edwards after spotting part of his collar poking through the top of the grain while walking along a gantry above the silos.
The coroner noted that safety features, including metal railings on the gantry and a metal grate inside, made it 'virtually impossible' for Mr Edwards to have fallen in. The reason he climbed into the silo remains a mystery.
The jury at Suffolk Coroner's Court recorded a verdict of accidental death. Mrs Edwards described her husband as a 'hard-working' and 'high-spirited man' who loved his farm and family.
