Hotel director drowned after JCB fell off pier into Loch Tay in ‘tragic accident’

A hotel director’s death has been deemed a “tragic accident” after a JCB he was using fell from a pier into a loch in Perthshire.

Greg Deakin was moving material as part of renovation work at the Ardeonaig Hotel, near Killen on the banks of Loch Tay, on October 6, 2021.

The 48-year-old had been removing boulders and dropping them into the loch when a turning manoeuvre on the pier went wrong and the JCB excavator went into the water.

Colleague William McShane saw the incident unfold and dived into the water to try to break the JCB cab.

He could not smash it with a boulder and was eventually told to get out for his own safety.

Emergency services were called to the scene but Mr Deakin, a father of two, was pronounced dead.

A fatal accident inquiry at Stirling Sheriff Court ruled the official cause of death as drowning.

Sheriff Derek Hamilton said the “tragic accident” was caused by the tracks on the JCB being wider than the width of the pier.

In a written judgment, Sheriff Hamilton said: “Quite simply this tragic accident was caused by Mr Deakin using equipment and a method of working on the pier which were inherently unsafe.

“The excavator was on this occasion too large to operate on the pier.

“Its tracks were wider than the width of the pier thereby allowing little room for error when manoeuvring the excavator.

“There was no room for Mr Deakin to rotate the excavator on its own tracks.

“Tragically, the excavator did not come to rest on the side which first entered the water.

“Because the windows of the excavator were underwater, those trying to assist Mr Deakin were initially unable to smash the glass.

“The cab was fitted with a rear window which could be opened as an emergency escape by either pulling a rubber ring attached to the seal, or by smashing the glass.

“There may have been many reason why Mr Deakin could not use the emergency escape but there was no evidence from which any conclusions could be drawn.”

His old school, Glenalmond College, paid tribute. They said: “Greg embraced all that Glenalmond had to offer and forged many long-standing friendships here.

“An early flair for design and technology during his school days underpinned his success in many businesses including running over 30 holiday properties and a hotel near Loch Tay.”