Recycling centre worker Ben Sewell would not have been thrown from the six tonne dumper truck he was driving and fatally injured if he had been wearing a seat belt, an inquest has been told. The 30-year-old from Dartmouth had never passed his driving test and had never been formally trained to drive the truck at Dittisham Recycling Centre where he had worked for almost two years, the inquest jury heard. No one witnessed the accident in which Mr Sewell somehow fell or was thrown from the seat of the dumper truck and suffered chest injuries and died in September 2012. When the truck – which ended up on its side some 20 yards further down the track from where Mr Sewell was discovered – was examined the lap strap seat belt was still tucked away beneath the seat. David Cory, from the Health and Safety Executive told the jury: 'The evidence is that Mr Sewell was not wearing the seat lap strap. If he had been wearing the lap belt and it was properly adjusted he would not have been able to part company from the dumper truck.' He said that lap straps on other vehicles on the recycling centre run by Dave Briton had been 'not well used' and one vehicle did not even have one fitted, despite warnings about the use of seat belts in Health and Safety Executive guidance and information sheets. He said there were no training records for the site and that Mr Sewell's training for driving the plant equipment had consisted of 'verbal instruction' by his fellow workers. The inquest jury took just one hour to deliver a verdict that Mr Sewell's death was an accident following a day-long hearing at the Palace Hotel in Torquay. After the hearing Mr Cory said the Health and Safety Executive would be considering what action – if any – to take. But he warned: 'We may decide to take further legal proceedings against the company or individuals.' Mr Sewell's mother Johanna, who sat through the hearing, said she wanted to see any health and safety issues highlighted by her son's inquest dealt with. And she added: 'I am glad that it's all over. It has been a long time.' Mr Sewell lived with his parents at Seymour Drive. He was well known in the town and his shock death stunned the town. Since then a pool tournament has been launched in Dartmouth in his name and a headstone – which was bought with money raised by Mr Sewell's friends – was put in place on his grave just before Easter. The police, the air ambulance and land ambulance were called to the recycling centre after workers there spotted a plume of smoke and found Mr Sewell lying on the ground fatally injured with the dumper truck further down the steep, track, on its side, the inquest was told. Mr Sewell was still alive when paramedics arrived but despite trying to revive him for some 20 minutes he was declared dead at the scene. Rhys Hickman, who worked at the recycling centre with his father Graham and Mr Sewell, said Mr Sewell had been driving the dumper truck backwards and forward carrying material. He said Mr Sewell would 'not normally wear a safety belt that I know of' and that he had probably made some 15 trips with the dumper truck that day before the accident.