A millionaire UKIP candidate has denied causing the death of a worker who died in a trench collapse on his land.

Keith Crawford says victim Peter Clements was a self employed sub contractor who was responsible for safety on the site where he was fixing a problem with the swimming pool at his farmhouse.

Property company boss Crawford, aged 74, said he agreed a lump sum contract for £3,600 with Mr Clements and that he was not responsible for any cost cutting.

Crawford told a jury at Exeter Crown Court he had not refused a request by Mr Clements to use a safer method or told him ’’F*** that, its getting stupid money now, carry on with what you were doing’.

He said he had not even left his house at Ide, near Exeter, before being alerted to the accident by Mr Clements son Ryan, who was working with him.

Mr Clements died in hospital, aged 48, in January 2015 three days after being buried alive in a three metre deep, one metre wide trench.

It was being dug to install drainage to remove ground water which was bubbling up beneath the liner of the indoor pool.

A digger driver hired by Crawford had dug the trench, which became unstable because of heavy rain. Ryan Clements had already escaped a minor fall of mud before the larger collapse which buried his father.

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

The prosecution say he employed Mr Clements on a cash in 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 it.

Ryan Clements and digger driver have both given evidence that they heard Mr Clements discussing safety with Crawford about 20 minutes before the tragedy and being told to get on with the work.

Crawford told the jury he owns 60 properties in and around Exeter with a total value of around £7 million, which produce an annual income of around £360,000.

He said Mr Clements was a self employed contractor who he used for maintenance jobs. He said he agreed a fixed price for the drainage work.

He said he did not foresee any risk and considered that safety was the sole responsibility of Mr Clements.

He denied suggestions from the prosecution that ’he did not give a damn’ or that he disliked red tape or anything that may be connected to European regulations.

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 case has been adjourned because bad weather impacted on court access and is unlikely to resume until next week.