A NEWPORT father was crushed to death by a ton of metal in a "mystery" steelworks accident, an inquest jury heard.

David Haydn Price, 54, of Lliswerry, was maintaining machinery at the Alpha Steel plant on Corporation Road, Newport, the Gwent coroner heard yesterday.

At 10am on Saturday, August 23, 2003, Mr Price, a foreman engineer, was replacing a cylinder on a powerful machine that coils steel.

Mr Price somehow got trapped from the waist down under a metal 'table' weighing over the ton that guides sheet steel.

He sustained multiple injuries and, despite the efforts of paramedics, firemen and his colleagues, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Robert Davies, a fitter, was working with Mr Price at the time. He told the court his back was turned while Mr Price was passing tools out from under the machine.

He said he heard a shout and turned to see Mr Price trapped underneath. Mill manager Peter Janik confirmed that Mr Price was "diligent, thorough and not the sort to deliberately hazard himself". Mr Janik added: "He was the best."

The jury heard it was the first occasion Mr Price had changed cylinders on a machine of this type. They were also told that a jack and timber pieces used to support parts of the machine were not in use at the time of the accident.

Health and safety inspector Steve Curry said the coiler had been disconnected from electric and hydraulic power.

He added: "We've been unable to determine what happened precisely." The court heard the table was in a position that left only a two-inch gap, but coroner David Bowen said it must have been in a more open position. He said: "It's a mystery to me as to how he got between the table and the wrapper.

"It's impossible he could've threaded himself through the gap. "There must have been a lapse in memory because of the trauma of the moment.

"It can only be a matter of speculation as to what happened on the day." The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.