A FOREMAN died when half a tonne of plasterboard fell on him at a Gwent building site, an inquest heard.

Andrew Charles Thomas, 34, of Wyesham, Monmouth, was crushed to death after the accident in Chepstow in April 2003.

Newport coroner's court heard that Mr Thomas, a foreman at the Chepstow branch of Robert Price builder's merchants, was using a crane on the back of a flat-bed lorry to unload sheets of plasterboard at a bungalow being built in Red Meadow Crescent.

Chepstow branch manager Steve Rees told the court Mr Thomas was not the usual driver of the lorry but that he had stepped in because the regular driver was not available.

Mr Rees said Mr Thomas was trained in the use of the crane but had last taken a training course in 1999.

The court heard that there were no witnesses to the accident. Mr Thomas phoned Mr Rees at 12.45pm to ask if he could enter the site as no-one was there.

Roger Jones, a specialist inspector with the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Thomas was using a crane to attempt to lift the plasterboard over the fence into the property when the accident happened. Mr Jones examined the crane and found that Mr Thomas was lifting the plasterboard in a sling, high over the fence.

He said a combination of factors led to the grabber on the end of the crane tipping up.

The sling, which was not properly fastened to the grabber, then slipped off and landed on Mr Thomas, said Mr Jones.

A post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Emyr Wyn Owen, a consultant pathologist at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, concluded that Mr Thomas died of pressure asphyxiation from multiple injuries. The inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Earlier, Linda Thomas, Mr Thomas' widow, said her husband enjoyed his work and was keen to move on in the company where he had worked for seven years.

Speaking after the case, Robert Price's managing director Will Godfrey said: "Mr Thomas was a well-loved, popular, hard-working employee. "We are a close team and he was a big part of it.

"What we have had here is a tragic accident. "Our thoughts are with Mr Thomas' family."