Lee Balkwell

Lee Balkwell was a 33-year-old man from Elm Park, England who died in 2002. He was killed in the early hours of 18 July 2002, when he was found with his head caught between the rotating drum of a concrete mixer and the vehicle chassis] following a four year campaign by Les Balkwell, which included the support of James Brokenshire, the MP for Hornchurch. The holding of an inquest into Lee Balkwell's death was repeatedly delayed, partly due to three separate invesigations into Lee's death by Essex Police. The inquest finally got under way on Tuesday 22 January 2008 at County Hall, Chelmsford.

In 2003, there was inquest into the death of another member of the Balkwell extended family, when 16-year-old Daniel Balkwell, a cousin of Lee Balkwell, was killed in a road traffic accident in Turkey. The Coroner returned a verdict of accidental death. [" [http://www.echo-news.co.uk/display.var.921606.0.0.php Inquest milestone for battling couple] "]

Inquest - January 2008

The inquest heard that both pathologists in the case, Dr Michael Heath and Dr Rouse, could find no evidence of foul play, though both conceded that earlier injuries could have been 'masked' by his being placed in the cement mixer ofter an earlier altercation. [" [http://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/content/havering/recorder/news/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=newsRomford&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsromford&itemid=WeED25%20Jan%202008%2010%3A31%3A51%3A070 Inquest hears of Lee's last hours] "] Later during the inquest, the 11-person jury heard a succession of witnesses from Essex and London ambulance services say how they found it impossible to imagine how Lee Balkwell could possibly have ended up in the position he did.
London Ambulance Service paramedic David Benge told the jury: "I thought it was an extremely odd case. It just seemed odd how he could have ended up there." Mr Benge had drawn a question mark followed by the words "foul play" in his notebook. He said the gap between the chassis and the drum was no more than six inches wide: "To this day I still can't imagine how he got there." Mr Benge added that he did not see "significant" signs of blood at the scene. Natalie Corbett, an Essex Ambulance Service technician said: "I could not understand how the man came to be in the position that he was," while David Delivett, an LAS ambulance technician, said: "In all my years of experience you can generally work out what happened, but how could a man like that become trapped?" Another ambulance staff member, Ms Tricia Tippett, said: "I didn't see any blood on his clothes or his body. My first impression was that the scene was suspicious. There was no light and he would not have been working in the dark. A few of the firemen became suspicious". [ [http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=170509&command=displayContent&sourceNode=230981&contentPK=19671115&folderPk=107991&pNodeId=231015] ]

A report in the Essex Chronicle (30 January) stated that: "Explosive evidence at an inquest into the death of a man crushed in a cement mixer appears to have cast doubt on the view it was an accident...revelations from members of emergency crews which attended the mangled body have raised questions about their findings. Simon Bromley, whol lived at Baldwins Farm, told how he had been working with Lee to chisel hardened concrete from the 8ft wide mixer drum before the incident happened. He said the pair had removed two 12-inch oblong inspection hatches from the drum to make throwing out the spoil easier, but as he rotated the drum to align a hatch with the floor Lee became trapped. Balkwell family barrister Tony Ventham said removing the hatches was an unusual procedure. "It was the first time in your time being involved in the cement industry that you took the hatches off," he asked. Mr Bromley replied: "Yes."

Hornchurch crew sub officer Robert Coombe told the jury: "We arrived at the entrance and there was a man of about 45 or 50 years of age directing us where to go. He said 'you'll enjoy this one'. "I don't know what he meant by it." Sub-Officer Coombe - an officer for more than 16 years - said that comment had "stuck in my mind". [ http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=170509&command=displayContent&sourceNode=230702&home=yes&more_nodeId1=231015&contentPK=19715317 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.justiceforleebalkwell.com/home.shtml Justice for Lee Balkwell website]