The tragic incident happened in a field outside Truro
13:46, 02 Feb 2026Updated 14:46, 02 Feb 2026
File picture of a Southern England Farms tractor in a field (Image: DC Media )
A farm worker was tragically crushed to death when he tried to hitch up a mini packer to a tractor in a cauliflower field, an inquest heard.
Aleksej Kleinov helped a colleague hitch up the mini packer to the tractor at a field owned by Southern England Farms Ltd near Trispen, Truro, on April 11, 2024, when he was fatally wounded by the link-up arms on the farm machinery.
SEF farms and operates more than 7,000 acres of farmland mostly in Cornwall growing brassica and other green vegetables and employs between 150 and 450 staff at different times of the year.
The first day of a two-day inquest into the death of Mr Kleinov heard how the 34-year-old who had been working for SEF since 2014, was an experienced tractor driver.
However, on the day of his death he went to help a younger and less experienced colleague he could see was struggling to hitch up the mini packer – also known as a box rig – to her tractor.
The court was told that he tried to hook up the mini packer onto the tractor. The tractor was backed up and arms were lifted and hit Mr Kleinov.
Mr Kleinov suffered fatal injuries to his skull and neck. He managed to extricate himself from between the mini packer hitch and the tractor, walked a few steps away but collapsed to the ground.
His colleagues called for help, the inquest heard. The gangmaster called the emergency services while crew members carried out CPR for more than an hour before paramedics turned up.
Unfortunately he could not be revived due to the severity of his injuries to his skull and neck and he was declared deceased at the scene.
A Heath and Safety Executive investigation was launched into his death from contact with farm machinery.
Shakhzoda Bakibayeva, with witnessed the incident, told the inquest held in Truro today (February 2) how she saw Mr Kleinov trying to attach the mini packer to the tractor from inside the trailer in the wet cauliflower field.
She said: “He was bent forward. He turned around and walked towards me and held his hand out when he came down from the trailer.
“He was outside the trailer when he collapsed. He didn’t say a word. He was quite in shock.”
Fellow veg packer Aneta Vitanova, who also witnessed the incident, said the arms of the mini packer lifted as Mr Kleinov was bent over trying to hitch it and hit his head and neck.
Dr Amanda Jeffery, a Home Office registered pathologist who carried out the postmortem examination on Mr Kleinov, gave a medical cause of death as head and neck injuries. A toxicology examination was negative for alcohol and/or drugs.
Renaldus Blaziunas, originally from Lithuania, trained some of the staff to use tractors and trailers including his own sister Rugile Kuraite who Mr Kleinov tried to help that day as she was struggling to hitch up the mini packer.
He told the inquest that the mini packer is used mainly in winter when fields are particularly wet. He said it is a bit tricky to hitch up to the tractor but he had not shown his sister to hitch it up as he did not think she would need to use it as she was not ready for it.
He told the inquest that before Mr Kleinov’s death, training to use tractors and trailers was more informal and he and other trainers would tell HR that employees were ready or not to use them.
He said: “Since the incident we no longer use the mini packers any more. People now have to pass an examination. It is a more formal process.”
Rugile Kuraite, his sister, told the hearing that she first worked with SEF in 2022 and rejoined the company in 2024 after working elsewhere. She said she passed her tractor driving assessment the second time round but had not been trained to use the mini packer before the fatal incident took place.
She said that on the day, after dropping off and unhitching another trailer in the field she was asked to pick up the mini packer. Ms Kuraite told the inquest that she had to come out of the tractor many times to check that it was lined up with the mini packer properly.
She said Mr Kleinov came over to help her line the machines up then climbed into the mini packer to help her hitch it up.
Ms Kuraite raised the link-up arms after being asked to do so by Mr Kleinov which is when they hit Mr Kleinov. As soon as she realised something was wrong she lowered them.
Ms Kuraite said: “The first time I tried to attach the mini packer was on the day of the incident.”
Gordon Stokes, the farm manager at SEF, said Mr Kleinov should not have found himself standing between the trailer and the tractor when dong the hitching manoeuvre and in that sense the normal process was not followed correctly.
He added: “He put himself in harm’s way by doing what he did and asking someone to lift the arms when the gap was going to close.”
He told the inquest that Mr Kleinov’s death had a profound impact on everyone at SEF. He said he has been farming since 1993 and has never encountered an accident like this one before.
He added: “My aim has always been to ensure that everyone goes home safely at the end of each day. This accident had a profound effect on everyone at SEF.”
Mr Stokes told the inquest that safety and training procedures have since been tightened at SEF farms and mini packers are no longer used.
The inquest is expected to conclude tomorrow (Tuesday February 3).
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