A 28-year-old man was crushed to death on a Banbury building site, an inquest heard.

Michael Whateley, of Eastfield Road, Northampton, was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with his brother Robert when the boom of a JCB telescopic handler — a machine similar to a forklift — crashed through the roof.

The two men, both ceramic tilers, had been waiting for the plot they were working on to be unlocked at the Linden Homes building site in Broughton Road on January 11.

Robert Whateley told Oxford Coroner's Court he noticed the boom on the telescopic handler in front of them had started to move.

He said: "I shouted 'duck, duck!' and I remember reaching for the ignition, but I didn't have time to move. The next thing I knew I was trapped."

The telescopic handler was being operated by Keith Payne who told jurors he had carried out all the necessary safety checks.

Vehicle examiner Phil Balderstone said the tyre pressures of the handler were below what they should have been and it was parked on a slope in muddy conditions.

Oxfordshire coroner Nicholas Gardiner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The Health and Safety Executive is still investigating