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Mark Milsome: risk to life was 'not effectively recognised', says coroner

<span>Photograph: Andra Milsome/PA</span>
Photograph: Andra Milsome/PA

The family of a cameraman killed when he was hit by a car while filming a stunt for a joint BBC and Netflix drama series have welcomed a coroner’s ruling that the risk to his life was not effectively recognised or managed.

Mark Milsome, 54, died when a Land Rover collided with him during a night-time stunt sequence for the series Black Earth Rising, in Achimota forest outside Accra, Ghana, in November 2017.

The stunt was supposed to involve the vehicle going up a ramp and toppling over, but it unexpectedly headed for Milsome and his colleague, Paul Kemp. Milsome suffered multiple injuries, including high cervical spine injury, and was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital. Kemp was also injured.

Giving his ruling on Friday at West London coroner’s court, a senior coroner, Chinyere Inyama, said: “Mark Milsome died an accidental death. Shortly before the execution of the stunt, the risk of Mr Milsome being harmed or fatally injured was not effectively recognised, assessed, communicated or managed.”

The four-day inquest this week heard from the original stunt coordinator – who had no role in the final stunt – that there was a “golden rule” that cameras in front of a moving vehicle should be unmanned.

It heard that a new stunt coordinator was brought in three weeks before the incident, that the speedometer in the Land Rover was not working and that there was no overall safety briefing before the stunt took place. The vehicle was estimated to be travelling at 47 kilometres per hour when it left the ramp, based on expert evidence taken from experiments using video footage of the incident.

The coroner said he required further evidence on protocols around ensuring safety in coordinating stunts, and would be writing to a number of organisations including the BBC.

Milsome, originally from Barnes in west London, had been living in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, with his wife and their daughter. Addressing the coroner before he gave his ruling, his widow, Andra, said: “No one should ever die for the sake of a shot.

“Mark’s death certainly should never have happened.”

She said her husband’s death had “left our world void of life, love and laughter”.

After the inquest, Milsome’s sister, Sarah Harrison, said: “We are deeply thankful for the coroner’s comments today, outlining the failures that led to the death of our beloved Mark. We are also grateful for the steps he has taken, which seek to address those failures across the television and film industry.”

After his death, Andra Milsome launched the Mark Milsome Foundation (MMF) to nurture young film-making talent. Stars including Robert De Niro, Dame Judi Dench and Johnny Depp have backed the cause by wearing the organisation’s T-shirts.

Harrison added: “Through our work with the Mark Milsome Foundation over the past three years we have sought to raise awareness of the circumstances leading to Mark’s death, and initiate lasting change in the health and safety practices of the industry. In the creation of the films and programmes we all enjoy, we want to ensure that the safety of the cast and crew remains paramount.

“We hope that no family again has to endure the heartbreak we have faced.”

BBC and Netflix were approached for comment.