"Scottish Power caused death of my pony" Farmer claims workers failed to close field gate


A Scots horse breeder claimed his son’s pet pony was killed in a car crash after workmen left his gate open.

George McEwan, 44, owns 25 horses and ponies that graze on his land in Coylton, Ayrshire.

He says Scottish Power workmen accessed his field to work on pylons but failed to secure the gate when they left - allowing pony Molly to escape.

READ MORE:Whingeing paedophile moans about being forced to flee to England after grooming girl

READ MORE:Scots mum launches soap empire from spare bedroom after quitting corporate job

The much-loved pony ran out onto the busy Whitletts roundabout next to his field and was killed in a smash involving two cars, which were left wrecked.

George McEwans horse was killed when Scottish Power came to his field and left his gate open and two cars crashed as a result. They are refusing to take responsibility. Handout
George McEwans horse was killed when Scottish Power came to his field and left his gate open and two cars crashed as a result. They are refusing to take responsibility. Handout

ScottishPower claim their workmen left the gate as they found it and didn’t breach their duty of care.

But Mr McEwan claims they did not properly close the gate leading to the tragic accident.

Mr McEwan, whose 16-year-old son Joe looked after Molly, said: “Three weeks ago Scottish Power was at my field doing work on the pylons. When they were there they left the gate open.

“A neighbour checks the ponies every morning. She said the gate was lying flat on the ground after they were in.

“Two horses got on the road and one ran back into the field.

George McEwans horse was killed when Scottish Power came to his field and left his gate open and two cars crashed as a result. They are refusing to take responsibility. Handout
George McEwans horse was killed when Scottish Power came to his field and left his gate open and two cars crashed as a result. They are refusing to take responsibility. Handout

“The other, my son Joe’s pet pony Molly was killed on the road. The cleansing department had to take it away.

“Joe was devastated.”

Mr McEwan bought five-year-old Molly at Appleby horse fair and she was just coming of age to be bred.

“The neighbour said that Scottish Power had been in the field the day before and didn’t close the gate properly,” he said.

Mr McEwan called Scottish Power but said when the men who did the work arrived they changed their story several times.

He said: “Four of them turned up and met me in the field and they claimed they put the gate back the way it was.

George McEwan video. His horse was killed when Scottish Power came to his field and left his gate open and two cars crashed as a result. They are refusing to take responsibility. George speaking to the workers from Scottish Power
George McEwan video. His horse was killed when Scottish Power came to his field and left his gate open and two cars crashed as a result. They are refusing to take responsibility. George speaking to the workers from Scottish Power

“I said that was impossible because I had the field for seven years and none of the horses got out before.

“One of the men said they were there to fix pylons, not to fix gates.

“An older guy was doing the talking. The younger ones were laughing and found it funny.

“I told them there had been an accident. A horse was killed on the road and the two cars were write-offs and people could have been killed.

“I told them they needed to take responsibility for leaving the gate open.”

Despite being assured there would be a full investigation, he received a letter just days later telling him he could seek legal advice as Scottish Power would not accept responsibility.

He said: “I don’t want it to happen to anyone else and I want them to take responsibility and pay for the horse they killed.

“They had a jeep parked between the two gates. They changed their story three times.”

SP Energy Networks spokesperson said: “We have concluded an investigation following the tragic incident involving Mr McEwan’s horse last month. The investigation found that in line with our policy, engineers had replaced the access gate to the field in the manner they had found it.

"We will contact Mr McEwan and offer a meeting with senior management to set out the findings of the investigation”

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

Follow us on Twitter at @Daily_Record for updates. For the latest news and breaking news visit https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/