THE last instruction to a 26-year-old driver-fitter crushed to death beneath a coach was 'chock the wheels,' it was claimed at a Newton Abbot inquest on Wednesday.

But Craig Potter, of Drake Road, Newton Abbot, the father of three young children, may not have secured the 10 tonne single decker adequately and when it slipped off an elevated ramp last August he suffered severe head injuries.

Only days after joining Duchy Travel at Silverhills Road, Decoy, he had been carrying out a routine brake check on the coach with Andrew Squires, one of the directors.

But Mr Squires was called away to a breakdown shortly before what Torbay and South Devon coroner Hamish Turner described as 'this very tragic accident'.

It is thought Mr Potter may have fixed a jack on an air bag beneath the coach – registration number MIL 3292 – causing one to collapse and the other to extend, making the coach unstable, the inquest was told.

After the jury returned a verdict of accidental death, Richard Blair, solicitor for Mr Potter's widow, Kim, issued a statement.

'Kim Potter and her family were absolutely devastated by Craig's death. He supported her and the children and his loss has been a great trial to her.

'She is pleased and relieved that the inquest is now completed. It is now relatively clear how Craig died. This is some slight consolation to her.'

Mr Blair said that 26-year-old Mrs Potter would now be pursuing a claim for compensation against Duchy Travel.

Andrew Squires declined to give evidence to the inquest on legal advice.

Tom Wake, an inspector with the Health and Safety Executive said charges against the firm were still being considered.

By the time he arrived at Duchy Travel on August 7, there was 'a considerable degree' of disturbance at the scene.

'Whether Mr Potter chocked the wheels will probably never be known with any degree of certainty,' he said.

Investigations had shown marks consistent with a jack being used under the coach's rubber coated air bags near the rear axle.

But the fact that the jack had been recovered in a retracted position was 'interesting,' Mr Wake said.

Asked by Mr Turner if it was true that some aspects of the events would never be known because Mr Potter was the only man at the scene, Mr Wake said: 'I fear so, sir.'

He was then asked by Michael Melville-Shreeve, for the family, if it was possible that a chock found forward of the front wheel could have been behind it before the coach moved. Mr Wake said: 'yes, very easily.'

Det Con Andrew Blake said Andrew Squires told him he had intended to assess Mr Potter's capabilities as a mechanic that day and had been testing him with questions.

He had sent him home that morning to fetch his safety boots as he had arrived wearing trainer boots.

The coach had been parked on the ramp the previous day, but it was not clear who had done so.

Mr Potter selected a bottle jack to work on the coach, saying he preferred to use one when Mr Squires suggested he used an air jack.

As he went towards the coach Mr Squires said; 'Chock the wheels,' Dc Blake said.

Police vehicle examiner John Snow said there were no chocks present and the handbrake was off. There was a slight leak from the rear brake but that hadn't been a contributory cause to the accident.

No mechanical defects 'caused or contributed to,' the accident, he said.

Mr Snow told the inquest it was 'up to yourself to keep yourself safe,' but when working on a ramp he would expect a fitter to put chocks in place.

Derek Harrison, of Ilford Park, Stover, a driver at Duchy Travel, arrived at the firm that day in time to take the 12.30 Torquay to Exeter coach out. He noticed that the ramp was raised by four or five feet and saw Mr Potter trapped underneath. His feet were still on the floor and his head and upper body were severely crushed.

'I've driven coaches on to ramps under instructions from fitters before, but I've never been asked to put chocks in myself,' he told the coroner.

He would not drive the coach on without a fitter being present so they could guide the wheels, he said.

Mr Potter had previously worked for AB Coaches in Totnes, where Mr Wake said he had been trusted to carry out brake checks and learned the business of coach service and repair. He then worked at Premier Coaches in Newton Abbot. He started work for Duchy Travel in July – shortly before his death.