celebrity news

Johnny Kingdom cause of death: BBC wildlife presenter died after being crushed by digger


Johnny Kingdom, 79, died on his land near South Molton, Devon, in September, last year.

An inquest at County Hall in Exeter heard Mr Kingdom had been moving logs with a three-and-a-half tonne Hitachi digger.

The inquest heard Johnny was attempting to move a log estimated to weigh 1.25 tonnes.

In a statement read by the coroner, he said: “The weight of the tree was too heavy and combined with the incline of the land it caused the digger to topple over.

“The top side of the digger cab was pinning him by the waist.”

“The top side of the digger cab was pinning him by the waist.”

The cause of death was given as crush asphyxia and Johnny also had multiple pelvic fractures.

Speaking outside the inquest, his wife said: “I’m lost without him. He was my life.”

The couple met when she was 14 and had been married for 56 years.

His sister, Julie Parkin, said: “We’re all still heartbroken. We love and miss him dearly.

“Johnny died tragically doing what he loved best – working on their beloved land where he spent many hours feeding and filming his wildlife.”

Johnny’s son Stuart Kingdom described his father as the “life and soul of the party”.

He said: “He was always joking and laughing and always had a story to tell.”

At the time of his death, his family issued a statement confirming the author and presenter had died during an “accidental death” on his land.

A lengthy message was believed to have been shared on his official Facebook page at the time from his loved ones, according to Devon Live.

It is said to have begun: “Wildlife presenter, film maker, photographer and author Johnny Kingdom has died following an accident on his land, his family has confirmed.

”This is a short message from his family: Unfortunately a legend has been lost.

“Johnny would want you all to continue with his love for Exmoor as you all meant so much to him.

“As the loving man himself would have said: ‘Farewell to all you lovely people’. No further details are available at present.”

It signed off: ”The family ask for privacy at this sad time and will issue a statement next week. R.I.P 23/02/1939 – 06/09/2018.”

Johnny was born in Exmoor and worked as a gravedigger, a quarryman and a lumberjack until an accident whilst out logging.

He then began making wildlife films and in 2006 his first series on BBC2, A Year On Exmoor, was watched by more than three million people.



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