Saga Cruises passenger Janet Purkess, from Lyndhurst, killed in …

A great-grandmother from Lyndhurst was killed when a 33ft crane lorry reversed over her at a port in Barbados, a coroners’ court has heard. Janet Purkess (87) suffered “terrible” injuries and died in the collision shortly after disembarking the Saga Sapphire cruise liner in Bridgetown on 25th January 2020, an inquest in Portsmouth was told. Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said lorry driver Anthony Walcott is now facing criminal charges over the death and will appear before court on the island in June.

Janet Purkess

She said the inquest is beginning before the criminal court hearing because of difficulties for witnesses including the ship’s captain, who is currently in Antarctica, attending the inquest remotely.

Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said on the day of the fatal crash Mr Walcott had driven the lorry to the port and had to reverse it into position alongside the ship to pick up bags of rubbish.

The inquest heard Mrs Purkess, of Gosport Lane, had disembarked the ship with other passengers but had “ended up” in the main traffic area for the dock with no ship or port staff nearby when the collision happened. The inquest heard the Saga Sapphire was initially due to go to Trinidad but was diverted to Bridgetown and port staff had not coordinated properly with the ship. Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said: “Various managers at the port should have communicated … that a ship would be putting in and passengers would be disembarking.

“It would appear that those arrangements were not in place.”

The Saga Sapphire in Kiel 2018 (picture: Mef Ellingen, bit.ly/3GBKrK6)

She added: “There was a complete systemic failure in the way things were organised (and) it wasn’t just the failure of one or two individuals.

“By all accounts if the proper measures had been put in place, the accident could have been avoided.” Describing the collision in a statement, Mr Walcott said he felt a “bump” as he was reversing but assumed it was bags of rubbish falling from a skip. Mr Walcott said he did not see Mrs Purkess until he had finished reversing and she was lying on the ground now in front of the driver’s cab.

Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said Mr Walcott later admitted to the police he was driving the lorry after his licence had expired on 31st August 2019. Mr Walcott went on to renew his licence two days after the fatal crash.

A cruise ship docked at Bridgetown Harbour in Barbados (picture: iStock)

The inquest heard the truck, which belonged to Mr Walcott’s father Clarence, was not fitted with an interior rear-view mirror or extended side mirrors. It also had no audible reversing alarms or blind-spot sensors, and Mr Walcott was driving without an assistant or “banksman” as is common practice in many ports.

Appearing via video from Barbados, Sergeant Andrew Sandford told the inquest he examined the scene on the day of the crash and interviewed Mr Walcott.

In a report, Sgt Sandford wrote he felt Mr Walcott had been “negligent” in how he drove at the dockside.

Reading from another eyewitness report, Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said Mr Walcott had reversed “in speed” for some 70ft along the dock.

The inquest continues today (Wednesday)