An inquest jury has found the death of a man who drowned after a weed spraying buggy toppled into a lake at a Newport golf resort was accidental.
Oliver Floyd, 20, got stuck after the vehicle, driven by his father Nicholas Rawlings, lost traction on Celtic Manor Resort’s Twenty Ten course last March.
Newport Coroners’ Court heard the buggy overturned in the lake trapping Mr Floyd, of Ross-on-Wye.
The BBC has reported after the inquest that his family were planning taking legal advice.
In a statement, they said they still had some concerns about what they had heard during the hearing.
“Our lives have been shattered with the loss of Oliver. He was the most loveable, cheekiest and kindest son, and he has left this huge great hole in our lives that will never ever be filled,” the family added.
Wales Online reported Ollie was clearing moss from the green at the Celtic Manor, working for Complete Weed Control, when the “small agricultural sprayer” which he and his father were in, slipped into the pond.
His father Nicholas Rawlings, 46, fought to lift his head above the water but his son’s legs became trapped underneath the vehicle. He drowned before the buggy could be lifted off him on the course.
An inquest heard the keen golf and rugby player was sitting in the passenger’s seat while his father was teaching him how to use the four-wheeled propogator vehicle in March last year in heavy rain and strong winds.
The buggy had a 700 litre water tank attached to the rear but its wheels lost traction as they drove along a steep embankment on the sixth hole.
The inquest in Newport heard it slid down into the water before tipping sideways
Mr Rawlings also said he had been told by director of golf courses at Celtic Manor, Jim McKenzie, to clear moss from the approaches, fairways and green starting at the sixth hole.
But Mr McKenzie said in evidence he would have objected to the father and son driving along the embankment due to concerns about leaving tyre marks.
Mr McKenzie said: “If I’d known I would have objected.
“I can see no reason why he was driving along that strip.”
He added “no mowing zones” had now been put in place to avoid future accidents.
