Bury St Edmunds: Horse Owner Sentenced For Death At Fair

13 January 2014, 17:07 | Updated: 13 January 2014, 17:17

The man who owned a horse which killed a woman at a Suffolk fair has been sentenced this afternoon.

Carole Bullet, 57, was at the popular Nowton Park Country Fair in Bury St Edmunds on 19 June 2011 when she was hit by the horse and driverless carriage as they careered though a panicking crowd.
 
Mrs. Bullet, of Clark Walk, Bury St Edmunds, suffered severe chest injuries and had to be airlifted to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, where she died the next day.
 
Ipswich Crown Court heard today (13 January 2014) that the horse’s bridle had been removed after a day providing rides for the public at the fair. Soon afterwards, something startled the animal and it bolted, hitting Mrs Bullet and injuring several other visitors to the fair.
 
The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted Duncan Drye, the owner and operator of the horse and carriage.

The HSE says Mr Drye had not ensured that his staff were adequately trained and qualified to operate the horse and carriages safely, or that there was a safe system of work on the day including keeping the rides safely segregated from the visitors of the fair.

Duncan Drye of Bishops Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was sentenced to community service after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

St Edmundsbury Borough Council was found not guilty of the same breach at an earlier hearing.

After sentencing, HSE Inspector Malcolm Crowther said: "This incident was entirely preventable. Because Mr Drye failed to take the necessary safety precautions, one woman needlessly lost her life and a number of others were injured.

“Horse and carriage rides can be run safely provided the proper control measures are in place. It is vital that operators are adequately trained and assessed before they are allowed to operate a ride in public.

“It is also vital that adequate risk assessments are carried out, and the ride is safely segregated from the public.’’