A former UKIP candidate has told a jury he did not realise that a trench in which a workman was killed was dangerous.

Keith Crawford said he would have been willing to get into the nine-foot-deep trench which had been dug to fix a problem with the swimming pool at his home.

He denied putting cost before safety or being uncaring and said he thinks about the death of builder Peter Clements every day.

Former soldier Crawford, aged 74, nicknamed The Colonel by friends, who runs a £7 million property business in Exeter, is on trial at Exeter Crown Court accused of manslaughter.

The charges relate to the death of 48-year-old Mr Clements who died in hospital three days after being buried alive at Crawford’s home at Pocombe Bridge, near Ide in January 2015.

The prosecution alleges he employed Mr Clements on a cash -n-hand basis and was in charge of the ground works. 

They say he caused his death by failing to pay £480 for a trench box which would have prevented the wet mud from falling into the trench.

Mr Clements’s son Ryan and digger driver Ross Phillips have both given evidence that they heard Mr Clements discussing safety with Crawford about 20 minutes before the tragedy.

They say he rejected complaints that the work was unsafe and said: ‘F*** that, it’s getting stupid money now, carry on with what you were doing’.

Crawford, of Crusader Court, Pocombe Bridge, near Ide, denies manslaughter and failing to ensure the safety of an employee.

He says Mr Clements was a self-employed sub-contractor who was responsible for his own safety.

He denied having any conversation about not spending money on doing the job more safely and said the decision to carry on was made by Mr Clements alone and without pressure.

He said he had experience of digging and shoring up trenches from his time as a soldier but had not been involved in the detailed planning of the work on his land.

He said he did not accept he had a legal duty of care to Mr Clements but that did not mean he was callous or did not care about his death.

He said: ‘There is not a day goes by I don’t examine in my conscience that trench and ask myself why I did not notice and realise it was a danger.

‘I had a good working relationship with Pete and I don’t know why he did not say it was dangerous. I would have gone in the trench myself. I did not see it was dangerous. I really didn’t.

‘If I had seen anyone doing anything dangerous I would have said. He was a sub-contractor and was very experienced and a good and multi-talented guy.

‘It was his job and I did not tell him what to do. I would have got short shrift if I did. If you carry on interfering, you would not get people working for you.

‘I went there every day but I was not overseeing the work. I had a guy on a price who was experienced and was getting on with his job as he saw fit.’

Crawford stood as the UKIP candidate in Exeter in the 2010 and 2015 general elections, losing to Labour’s Ben Bradshaw on both occasions and for the South West constituency in the European Parliament elections in 2014.

The trial continues