Former defence chief Nicholas Prest, 71, and his wife Anthea, 70, both deny being to blame for the death of gardener Paul Marsden, who was working on the grounds of their £2.5 million mansion
A wealthy couple have appeared in court after a gardener died while working at their £2.5 million country mansion.
Former Ministry of Defence chief Nicholas Prest, 71, and his wife Anthea, 70, have both denied being to blame for the death of gardener Paul Marsden, who was working on the grounds of their property at the time. Self-employed Mr Marsden, 47, had been using a quad bike to spray weed killer when he fell from the vehicle in April 2020.
An inquest previously heard he was was discovered underneath the “all terrain vehicle” by another worker, and a post mortem examination revealed he had died of asphyxia. Mr Prest and his wife are each accused of two charges under the Health and Safety at Work act in relation to Mr Marsden’s death
They do not face charges of manslaughter, but instead are accused over charges of failing to check workers had protective equipment and that the quad bike was safe to use, reports Wales Online. Following a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive, the couple appeared together in the dock on Wednesday at Cardiff Crown Court, where they spoke only to confirm their names, dates of birth, and address. They also spoke to plead not guilty to both charges during the brief hearing and will stand trial next October.
One charge alleges the Prests didn’t check that persons including Paul Marsden “were exposed to risks arising from the failure to provide suitable and sufficient training, plant and personal protective equipment when using all-terrain vehicles.” The other charge alleges the couple failed to” take such measures as it was reasonable for you to take to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that plants provided for use, namely that an all terrain vehicle, was safe and without risk to non-employees, namely Paul Marsden, for use on the premises.”
Mr Prest, previously worked for the MoD before setting up his own companies and is now the chairman of defence technology giant Cohort. He lives with Mrs Prest at the sprawling countryside house close to the village of Llandogo in Monmouthshire, which overlooks the River Wye and across into the Forest of Dean.
The couple have previously hosted a number of garden parties at the Pilstone House home as charity fundraising events for causes such as the NHS and Ukraine. The Prests, of Llandogo, were handed unconditional bail. Mr Marsden’s brother Gary and father John followed the proceedings on video link after judge Eugene Egan granted them permission to attend remotely.
