A FARM worker was crushed to death by his tractor as he was ploughing a field last night.

The 56-year-old father-of-three, who has not yet been formally identified, was ploughing a field at D Paine and Sons Farm at Witley Park, Great Witley, when his tractor rolled over, throwing him out of the cabin and then rolling on top of him.

He was killed instantly.

Co-owner of the farm Alan Paine said: "We are all very upset by this tragic accident. We are a small farm with just four employees and this gentleman has been employed by us for 35 years.

"He was an experienced tractor driver, which makes it all the more difficult to understand what happened."

The body of the man had to be freed by firefighters using specialist lifting equipment.

Spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Alec Mackie said: "We understand that the worker was ploughing the field when his tractor overturned a couple of times.

"We were called to recover the body as the gentleman had died instantly. We mobilised teams from Stourport and Kidderminster who used specialist equipment to lift the tractor after police had completed their initial investigations.

"We believe the tractor was fairly new."

A post-mortem will take place this afternoon and an inquest into the man's death will be opened and adjourned on Friday at Stourport. The body is expected to be formally identified at 1pm today.

The police and the Health and Safety Executive are now investigating the accident.

HSE principal investigator Phil Smith said: "Tractors have to be fitted with cabs and roll bars so in the event of an accident the driver is protected.

"We will be investigating whether the tractor met the legal requirements and the kind of information and training the driver received.

"Where there is a death, obviously it's not possible to ask the individual so it could be a lengthy investigation."