Man charged over tragic tractor death of Albie, 3
POLICE investigating the death a three-year-old after he was hit by a tractor have charged a man with gross negligence manslaughter.
Albie Speakman died following the incident in Tottington, Bury, in July 2022.
Yesterday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said Neil Speakman, 38, of Bentley Hall Road in Bury had been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.
“The charge relates to the death of three-year-old Albie Speakman who was killed when he was run over by a small tractor on a farm in Bury in July 2022,” said the force in a statement.
Mr Speakman has been bailed until his next court appearance at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on April 16.
In a heartbreaking tribute to her son, Albie’s mum Leah vowed to ‘find a way to be strong.’ She said at the time: “Albie was an incredibly loving, affectionate and caring boy who just wanted everyone to be happy.
“I will miss absolutely everything about Albie, his voice, his smile, the smell of his skin and the feel of his little hands on my face when he would say ‘I love you mummy girl.’ I always call him my ‘little sunshine boy’ because he has brought so much light into my life and he is my little ray of sunshine, and I don’t want his life to end here, I need to carry on living for him and take him with me wherever I go.
“We still have so many more memories to make, Albie! I love him so much and I know he will find his way back to me someday, somehow, because we need each other. Until then I will look for him in everything I do and I will celebrate his life. I’m not sure how to carry on this life without you but I will find a way to be strong for you and make you proud.”
In the days following his death, friends and family held a vigil in Radcliffe in memory of the ‘sunshine boy.’ Mourners laid candles and released balloons to mark Albie’s passing.
Hundred of people lined the streets for his funeral. Mourners watched on in sombre silence as a horse-drawn hearse carried Albie to the service.