Howard Walters, 78, from Birchgrove was given a one year community order after he was seen with the child in the tractor cab at Tirmynydd Farm.
Walters, was the subject of a complaint made by a neighbour who raised concerns about the defendant operating a tractor with his grandchildren on board. The neighbour expressed concerns about Walters’ grandson riding in the front of an agricultural vehicle.
Walters had already been issued with a prohibition notice by the Health and Safety Executive in November 2020.
He admitted to inspectors that he allowed his pre-teen grandchild to ride in his tractor.
But just two months later, he was filmed by his neighbour flagrantly breaching the terms of that notice.
Walters’ daughter claimed the boy had fallen off a ‘skittish’ horse at the farm and her father had given him a lift back to the farmhouse to save him walking.
However, a HSE inspector who investigated Mr Walters said the law is ‘very clear’.
Children under 13 are specifically prohibited from driving or riding on or in any agricultural machine, including the tractor cab.
Sentencing at Swansea Crown Court, Recorder Jonathan Rees KC said:
“A child might interfere with machinery controls or distract the driver. This was a flagrant disregard for the law.’
Walters was fined £500 and ordered to pay £3,000 costs.
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