Tragedy as son drowns after golf buggy incident at Celtic Manor

An inquest has heard how a young groundsman at Celtic Manor was killed when his father accidentally drove their buggy into a pond, while on the phone expressing concerns about working in windy weather.

Ollie Floyd, 20, was trapped underneath the weed-spraying buggy when it slipped down an embankment at the 6th hole at Celtic Manor. 

Nicolas Rawlings, who was deemed "not mentally fit" to give evidence at the inquest, gave police a statement telling how he leapt out of the vehicle and tried to save his son.

However, it took 15 minutes to free the 20-year-old. Ollie's father later told police he had tried to put a hose in his mouth to give him oxygen, but was unable to as he could only make out his son's eyes underneath the water.

The pair had been clearing moss from the green at the course in Newport, South Wales, when their "small agricultural sprayer" slipped into the pond.

Mr Rawlings, 46, desperately fought to lift his son's head above the water, but the younger man's legs became trapped underneath the vehicle. He drowned before the buggy could be lifted off him on the course.

An inquest heard the keen golf and rugby player was sitting in the passenger's seat while his father was teaching him how to use the four-wheeled "progrator" vehicle in March last year in heavy rain and strong winds.

Alan Abel, director of Complete Weed Control, said Mr Rawlings had been on the phone with him expressing his concern about spraying the course due to the conditions described as "windy".

Mr Abel told how he heard the father screamed out his son's name followed by a loud scream and the call ended abruptly. The buggy, which had a 700 litre water tank attached to the rear, lost traction as they drove along a steep embankment on the sixth hole, slipping down the bank and into the water.

Mr Rawlings also stated that he had been told by Jim McKenzie, director of golf courses at Celtic Manor, to clear moss from the approaches, fairways and green starting at the sixth hole. Mr McKenzie, however,  said in evidence he would have objected to the father and son driving along the embankment due to concerns about leaving tyre marks.

McKenzie added that "no mowing zones" had now been put in place to avoid future accidents.

The hearing continues.