Berrymans accept Govt compo offer

Wanganui couple Keith and Margaret Berryman have "reluctantly" accepted a $150,000 settlement from the Government as compensation for the collapse of a bridge leading to their King Country farm in 1994.

The army-built bridge collapsed and killed beekeeper Ken Richards as he travelled across in his honey-laden truck.

The Berrymans had been fighting for damages ever since and have made several unsuccessful attempts to negotiate for compensation from the Government.

Today, the couple's Taupo-based lawyer, Simon Gale told NZPA that on November 30 the Government made a "take it or leave it" offer of $150,000, which the couple reluctantly accepted against legal advice.

The couple was given 14 days to decide whether to agree to the settlement and it was finalised on Christmas Eve.

The process to receive compensation had been "frustrating", he said.

"These people are in their 80s now, they're frail, are financially insecure, and the whole thing is just shocking."

The settlement amount included all costs involved in the drawn-out saga, Mr Gale said.

"It's totally unsatisfactory."

The Berrymans and their supporters were now calling for a Royal Commission into the case, he said.

"There's a general feeling that these people have been shafted."

After the bridge collapsed the couple were prosecuted and the escalating costs in defending the charges resulted in the loss of their farm. Shortly after the incident the couple's house was also torched and burnt to the ground, Mr Gale said.

"It really has been a sorry saga."

In 2001, the Berrymans discovered the army had held an inquiry at the time of accident, carried out by civil engineer George Butcher.

Three years later their then lawyer, Dr Rob Moodie, took on the couple's case and pushed for the Butcher report to be published.

The army successfully challenged a court ruling allowing its publication but Dr Moodie risked contempt of court and published the report online.

- NZPA