A four-year-old boy, Maldwyn ‘Gwern’ Evans, tragically died after suffering catastrophic head injuries when he was flung onto a concrete patio by an antique garden roller, an inquest in Aberystwyth has heard. The heartbreaking incident occurred on June 20 at the family’s home in the quiet Welsh village of Tynreithin.
Gwern, described by his family as a “keen little farmer,” was playing in the garden when the accident happened. Coroner Peter Brunton, who presided over the inquest, concluded that the young boy’s death was accidental and stated that “there was no human control” involved in the incident.
“The loss of a child is the most devastating thing that can happen to a parent,” Brunton told Gwern’s grieving family. It is every parent’s nightmare to outlive your children. I can only offer you my most profound condolences and sympathies.”
Emergency services, including an air ambulance, were called to the scene at 4.30pm and arrived shortly after. Despite their best efforts, Gwern was diagnosed with a traumatic cardiac arrest caused by severe traumatic brain injury. Medics were unable to revive him.
In a statement, Gwern’s mother, Sian Eleri Evans, described how she and Gwern’s sister had returned home from school just before the tragic accident. “As I was in the kitchen, I heard a thud and instantly thought it’d been the roller and ran out,” she recalled. She explained that although Gwern had never played with the garden roller before, he was an inquisitive child and may have been pretending to roll a field, as he had seen other machinery used on the family farm.
The Victorian cast-iron garden roller, estimated to weigh between 50 and 60 kilograms, had been a garden ornament for two years before the incident. The coroner concluded that Gwern had likely pushed the roller from behind and, as it gained momentum on a slope in the garden, was carried forward and flipped over by it, leading to his fatal head injury on the concrete patio.
Mrs Evans shared the profound loss felt by her family and friends, saying, “The loss is unimaginable, not only for myself, his father, and sister but to my wider family and friends.” In Gwern’s memory, the family has undertaken fundraising efforts to support the Welsh Air Ambulance and to establish a school farm at his school.
Coroner Peter Brunton remarked, “On the balance of probabilities, Gwern had indeed been able to push the roller from behind using the handle like anyone else would. His pluckiness therefore may have played a hand in this.”
The tragedy has left the local community devastated, with many mourning the loss of a bright and determined young boy.
