A MOTO cross organiser from Tavistock was killed when his tractor overturned as he prepared the track for a race meeting.

An inquest last Wednesday heard that Simon Higgins, a 33-year-old married man, only thought he had winded himself when the 1955 Massey Ferguson tractor flipped over — but  he suffered massive internal bleeding and two heart attacks.

The Greater Devon coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death contributed to by neglect.

Dr Elizabeth Earland told the Exeter inquest: 'He was preparing a moto cross track and driving a badly maintained tractor when it somehow overturned on uneven ground and crushed him. I am satisfied that the condition of the tractor contributed to the accident.'

The incident happened at the Phoenix Moto Park at Kingsteignton, Devon, one day last April, as Mr Higgins and a business partner prepared the track for a weekend race meeting.

Police vehicle examiner Geoffrey Chapman examined the 1955 tractor and concluded that it was in a 'dangerous condition' and had defective brakes, poor tyres and was not serviced or maintained properly. It was so old it did not have roll bars or seat belts.

He agreed with the coroner that 'it was an accident waiting to happen'.

The inquest heard that the tractor — which Mr Higgins was using for the first time after buying it in a job lot of gear — overturned on a slope and flipped over and Mr Higgins, from Grenofen, was flung three metres from it.

Business partner Robin Griffith was 1,000 metres away when the accident happened.

He said: 'There was a big white cloud of smoke, then two more clouds of smoke. I ran over. The tractor had overturned. Simon was lying on his back. I asked him if he was okay and he said he was. He was struggling to breathe.'

Mr Higgins told his friend that he was 'winded and would be okay in a couple of minutes' and asked him to get a drink of water.

Mr Griffith said his friend did not want him to call an ambulance and said he was 'fine'.

He said four weeks earlier, Mr Higgins had injured himself in a moto cross crash and was 'more injured then'.

He continued: 'He said not to call an ambulance saying he had just winded himself. I took his word for it.'

Mr Griffith turned off the tractor which was in danger of slipping towards Mr Higgins.

He said: 'Simon could not remember how it had happened.'

But his breathing worsened and ambulances and a police helicopter arrived at the scene and flew the victim to an Exeter hospital where he died less than two hours later.

Mr Griffith said the partners had bought the tractor in a job lot saying: 'We had not used the tractor before.

'Simon was a mechanic and was safety conscious.'

A post mortem concluded that he had suffered multiple injuries after being crushed by the tractor. His liver was 'massively' lacerated and he suffered internal bleeding.

He suffered a heart attack in the air as he was being ferried to hospital.

A Teignbridge council inquiry said no one was to blame for what happened.