|
FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS Christopher Meachen
Christopher, who had been working at the Concrete Company plant on the Longwater Industrial Estate, at Costessey, Norfolk, as a technician for two months, was killed in November 2005. Christopher became caught in an unguarded slew conveyer. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination revealed he had died from multiple injuries. Area manager Roy Burrows, 46, and managing director Timothy Dighton, 45, pleaded guilty to Christopher's manslaughter at Norwich Crown Court. The two were convicted and bailed to be sentenced in July 2007. On 5 July 2007 the Concrete Company Ltd was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £164,000 (£75,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation, with £89,000 costs) and two managers at the firm were imprisoned. Dighton was jailed for 12 months. As company director he would bear the brunt of the fines and costs. Burrows was jailed for nine months. The court heard the company had paid no regard to the safety, the livelihoods or the physical well-being of the men and his death would not have happened if managers had invested just £2,000 in safety measures. It has since emerged that the firm slipped off the radar of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - which normally carries out regular checks - as director Timothy Dighton failed to inform the watchdog of the company's existence. Following Christopher's death the HSE visited the company's 13 sites across East Anglia and uncovered a catalogue of problems, issuing 15 warnings, many for potentially deadly flaws in day-to-day practices. Speaking after the case, Christopher's fiancée, Helen Pamplin said, 'He loved family life and our children were the most important thing in the world to him. He did not deserve to die in this way - nobody should have to go to work and not come back.' Prosecutor William Coker said Christopher had been clearing the pit while the conveyor belt was still running. This was regular practice at the site despite the fact that there was no guard on the machine and no emergency stop button within reach. He said that once Christopher, who worked more than fifty hours a week, became trapped 'death was a virtual certainty'. Nobody else was present to shut off the machine. A post-mortem found he died of multiple injuries. The guards which should have been fitted to the machine would have cost £2,000. 'The precautions which would have prevented this accident were cheap, simple and well understood,' Mr Coker added. Christopher had been working at the firm for two months and had no previous experience in the industry. He was given no formal training and was instead expected to learn from a colleague who himself only had limited experience. It was common for employees to work at dangerous heights and no health and safety procedures were in place at any of the company's sites. Even after the death, Dighton was observed putting his own life at risk by working in a confined space without taking the necessary precautions and climbing on conveyor belts without ensuring the power supply was locked. Although Burrows played a lesser role in the death as his job was predominantly sales, he had put himself in a position of responsibility. Passing sentence, Judge Peter Jacobs said, 'He knew what was going on was totally unsafe and totally improper. If he didn't know, he should have done.' In mitigation the court heard that both men were deeply sorry for what happened and were of previous good character. Judge Jacobs added there could never be a happy conclusion to such a case, saying, 'I just wish I could turn the clock back two years.' Outside court Justin McCracken, HSE deputy chief executive, said, 'Christopher Meachen's tragic and wasteful death could and should have been avoided by very simple and straightforward safety precautions. 'We regularly come across examples of poor health and safety standards at workplaces but the inspectors involved in this case were appalled by the total lack of basic health and safety measures at this company's site, which directly led to the fatal incident.' Det Insp Richard Graveling said, 'Christopher Meachen had gone to work on November 7 and, through no fault of his own, he met with a tragic death. It is clear that, had the company made remedial safeguards around the conveyer, Mr Meachen would be with us today.'
Ray Bane
Ray died after being crushed between two industrial skips at Norman Wenn skip hire in East Tuddenham, near Dereham The inquest was held at Norwich and District Coroner's Court on 20 April 2007 when an 'Accidental Death' verdict was returned.
Paul Cavanagh
Paul, a security guard, was stabbed to death at the HMV store in Chapelfield shopping centre, Norwich. In August 2007 a jury at Norwich Crown Court found David Watson, of Hackney, east London, guilty of murdering Paul and was jailed for 24 years. Watson, who had denied murder, was also sentenced to four years for the wounding of a second security guard. The sentences will run concurrently. Watson had said he stole a CD from HMV as he thought he would get away with it, but he was challenged by Paul. The court heard that Watson had a bag with him containing £1,400 worth of hard drugs, and he was worried that if they were discovered, his dealer - to whom he owed money - would blow up his mother's house. After being taken to a back room while the police were called Watson plunged a knife in Paul's neck severing his jugular vein. After the case, chief inspector Roger Wiltshire, of Norfolk Police, said, 'This incident was truly awful - a hard-working family man lost his life after what effectively started off as a petty shoplifting.' In January 2008 Watson lost a High Court appeal to have his 24-year jail term shortened. Paul's parents said 'justice' had been done after the appeal was refused.
Sam Foley
Sam, a heath man at Newmarket, who had been helping out at a friend's farm at Snetterton, was attempting to tip manure when the trailer jack-knifed and its tow ring broke. This caused the tow bar to shoot through the tractor's rear window crushing Sam to death. The inquest was held at Greater Norfolk Coroner's Court on 18 November 2008 when an 'Accidental Death' verdict was returned, following instruction from Coroner William Armstrong.. Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and other experts concluded that the incident was caused by the tow ring – which would have cost less than £100 to replace – snapping in two after it had been welded following a previous fracture. The type of trailer used was also unsuitable for the load of solid cargo and the fact its tailgate was locked would have put extra strain on the tow ring because the manure could not escape when the trailer tipped. The inquest jury heard that Sam had helped Pearn Wyatt & Son for eight years on a casual basis. Father and son Timothy and Jonathan Wyatt claimed to have no knowledge of any repair work and said they would always replace damaged tow rings. The Wyatts fitted the trailer to the tractor at about 8.20am on July 8 and, giving evidence, Jonathan Wyatt said Sam locked the tailgate before leaving the yard because he was 'very conscientious'. No-one witnessed the incident but the Wyatts became concerned and Sam was discovered at 8.50am. HSE inspector Malcolm Crowther, who attended the scene, said the trailer was 26 years old and in poor condition with signs of damage and corrosion. 'The tow ring had previously fractured on one side and an attempt had been made to do a weld repair,' he said. 'The result of the repair was inadequate and failed, resulting in the fatal accident.' He added that the repair 'seriously compromised' the strength of the tow ring so that it had only 45 per cent of its original strength on one side. Jonathan Wyatt said it was possible that the tow ring could have been repaired while on loan within the local farming community. Timothy Wyatt added, 'It is a complete mystery. When something needs replacing, it's replaced and done properly.' Mr Armstrong added, 'It's a matter of grave concern that this tragic death occurred as a result of, principally, the tow ring failing and that some person unknown attempted to repair a previous fracture by welding, which should not have been done.'
Jon Crosby
Jon, an EDF Energy linesman, died as a result of serious injuries he sustained in the course of his work on a power cable at an electrical pole in an open space in Sawmills Road. Jon who was an experienced linesman, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for treatment but later died. The inquest will be held at Greater Norfolk Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set. In July 2008 Jon's widow announced via a website that Jon's supervisor had been cleared of manslaughter charges in relation to the incident and that another colleague, who had been in the hoist with Jon at the time of his death had been reinstated as a linesman for EDF.
Michael Harland
Michael died at North Barsham near Wells-on-Sea when he was ejected from a 1,400mph Tornado jet bomber as it performed an inverted roll on a test flight over Norfolk. He was working as a civilian navigator for BAE, which services the RAF Tornados based at RAF Marham. The pilot later landed the aircraft at RAF Marham and the ejector seat was found near the Sandringham estate. A Ministry of Defence (MoD) board of inquiry would investigate the incident, an official said. Michael's body was found in a field at South Creake and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Any inquest would be held at Greater Norfolk Coroner's Court.
Wu Zhu Weng
Wu, a Chinese national, was working on a flat roof at the Panery bakery and cafe at Trowse near Norwich and died after falling through a skylight. Alcon Construction was refurbishing the premises and building a single storey ground floor extension. Open spaces for skylights on the flat roof of the extension were covered with plastic sheeting. Wu stood on one of the sheets and fell 4.6m to the ground. He was taken to hospital by Sharaz Butt, the director of Alcon Construction, but later died. In August 2008 at Norwich Crown Court Sharaz Butt admitted Wu's manslaughter. Butt had been charged with manslaughter and admitted the offence. On behalf of the company he also admitted failing to ensure the safety of people at work between 3 January and 2 February 2008 by not devising and carrying out risk assessments. Shauna Ritch, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said, 'There had been no risk assessment on the site and no English speaking workers.' Judge Jacobs said that not guarding the skylights was 'total lunacy'. The workers were not English, not registered and paid no tax. 'They were probably illegal immigrants grateful for work with no questions asked,' he said. 'One hears of grotesque examples of breaches of health and safety and that is why we have legislation to protect people.' Any inquest would be held at Greater Norfolk Coroner's Court.
John Hulme
John, a chief engineer at B Brooks (Norwich) Ltd meat processing factory in Beckhithe, Little Melton, died from severe head injuries as a result of heavy machinery falling on him. The inquest was held at Greater Norfolk Coroner's Court on 30 October 2008 when an 'Accidental Death' verdict was returned. After the verdict, Coroner William Armstrong said it would be inappropriate in this case to make any comments after a verdict of accidental death.
Robert Henderson
Robert, a farmworker, was trying to transfer oxygen from one cylinder to another at a farm in Stockton.He was using a mini-welding or cutting set and a joint separated under pressure and struck him in the face. The inquest was to be held at Greater Norfolk Coroner's Court.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||