Wife was crushed by garden wall collapse, inquest told

A motor mechanic returned from work to find his wife lying face down in their south Shropshire garden, crushed under a fallen wall, an inquest heard.

Cledwyn Jones, 59, used an iron bar in a desperate bid to move the brickwork from on top of wife Alison, but it was too late.

Paramedics arrived at the scene within 20 minutes and pronounced Mrs Jones dead just after 7pm on February 1.

A hearing at Bishop's Castle Coroner's Court yesterday was told Mrs Jones, who died aged 51, had taken a week off from her work as a care home kitchen assistant to spruce up the garden at their home in Weston Road at White Gritt, near Minsterley.

The couple had enjoyed a happy lunch together and Mrs Jones had chatted with two of her daughters on the phone about trimming plants.

But when Mr Jones arrived back from work at 6.40pm he knew something was wrong as the house lights were off and no smoke was coming from the chimney.

In a statement read in court, he said: "I got out a torch and walked over to where I could see something and it was Alison.

"She was lying face down with the wall on her. It was very heavy and I couldn't get it off her.

"I used a big iron bar from nearby to move the wall from Alison's body and head.

"I moved her collar, which had been up over her face, and instantly knew she was dead.

"Alison was my life. She was a well respected lady. She will be missed by myself and her children and grandchildren."

Constable Stuart Coote, from Church Stretton police station, said the wall was found to be in a very poor state of repair.

Professor Archibald Malcolm, consultant pathologist at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, said Mrs Jones had been killed by crush injuries to her chest.

South Shropshire coroner Mr Anthony Sibcy recorded a verdict of accidental death. He said: "We shall probably never know exactly how this occurred.

"Although this isn't born out by the evidence, it may be reasonable to deduct from photographs that she had been pulling at a climber to dislodge it from the wall."

By Danny Carden