Cases involving convictions of companies, directors and business owners since 2005

Name of Deceased	Date of Death	Conviction Date	Convicted Defendant	Status	Sentence
Adam Gosling	23 April 2007	15 April 2009	Colin Holtom	Building site employer	Three years imprisonment
Darren Hoofe	29 November 2005	27 January 2009	Colin Cooper	Director	Twelve months imprisonment Banned from being a director of a company for three years
				IC Roofing	Fined £10,000 for manslaughter and ordered to pay costs of £20,000
Wu Zhu Weng	31 January 2008	31 July 2008	Sharaz Butt	Company director	Twelve months imprisonment
Conor Bogues, Donall Gibson	19 Jan 2006	June 2008	Conrad Zych	Trawler Skipper	Twelve months imprisonment (two sentences to run concurrently)
Mark Spiers	31 Jan 2002	June 2008	Kevin Trainor	Dredger Skipper	18 months imprisonment (suspended for three years)
Daniel Dennis	Apr 2003	6 May 2008	Roy Brendon Clark	Business owner	Ten months imprisonment
Paul Alker	Jun 2007	November 2007	Steven Smith	Director	Two years and six months imprisonment
Christopher Meachen	Nov 2005	12 June 2007	Roy Burrows	Area manager	Nine months imprisonment
			Timothy Dighton	Managing Director	Twelve months imprisonment
			Concrete Company Ltd		Fined £75,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation, with £89,000 costs
Krisztian Takacs	Aug 2005	15 Feb 2007	Philip Wyman	Boat owner	18 months imprisonment
David Bail	May 2003	Aug 2006	Michael Shaw	Director	15 months imprisonment
			Gavin Shaw	Director	Fined £1,500 for breach of health and safety legislation
			Change of Style		Directors and company fined total of £70,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation
Colin Buckley, Darren Burgess, Chris Walters, Gary Tindall (Tebay Rail tragedy)	Feb 2004	Mar 2006	Mark Connolly Roy Kennett	Business owner Employee	Nine years imprisonment Two years imprisonment
'Cockle Pickers'	Feb 2004	Mar 2006	Lin Liang Ren	'Gangmaster'	14 years
Mark Jones	Feb 2004	Oct 2005	Wayne Davies	Sole Trader?	18 months imprisonment
Kevin Arnup	Dec 2003	Jun 2005	Paul White	Director	1 year imprisonment
			M V White Ltd		Fine of £30,000 for breach of health and safety legislation
Daryl Arnold	Jun 2003	Jan 2005	Lee Harper	Managing Director	16 month imprisonment
			Harper Building Contractors Ltd		Charged with corporate manslaughter and breach of Section 2 of HSWA (These charges remain on the file as the company is in liquidation)

Death of Adam Gosling

Colin Holtom, a building site employer, appeared at the Old Bailey in August 2008 to deny the manslaughter of 15-year-old Adam Gosling crushed to death when he was allegedly left to work unsupervised.

Adam was killed during the demolition of a brick wall at the site in Hadley Wood, Enfield, in north London, on April 23 2007.

Mr Holtom was alleged to have failed to provide him with adequate supervision, training, protective clothing, and risk assessment or warning.

Holtom denied the charge of manslaughter by gross negligence and also pleaded not guilty to a charge under health and safety law.

Darren Fowler who appeared alongside him in the dock, denied a similar charge, as well as a further count alleging that he took part in running a company while under a bankruptcy order.

Both men were granted bail and were due to face trial on April 15 2009.

In July 2009 Holtom changed his plea appearing before judge Christopher Moss and pleaded guilty to Adam’s manslaughter on the grounds of gross negligence.

Detective inspector Pete Basnett, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said, 'This has been a protracted and complex investigation lasting more than two years and we’re pleased with today’s convictions which should serve as a clear warning that health and safety laws are there for a reason and ignoring them can have tragic consequences.'

At the April trial, the court had been told Mr Holtom had a 'laissez faire' attitude to health and safety.

The Old Bailey heard Adam and his 18-year-old brother Dean had been left unsupervised to knock down a 7m high wall, which was only identified days earlier as being unstable by contractor Darren Fowler – who was a project manager at Romford-based Soneca Systems and had subcontracted the work to Mr Holtom.

On 20 July Holtom was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Fowler had admitted working while disqualified from being a company manager and failure to discharge a duty imposed by Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 - contrary to Sect 33 (1a) of the said Act. He was jailed for 12 months for working while disqualified.

There was no separate penalty for the health and safety matters.

Simon Hester, the investigating inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said, 'The management and set-up of this small construction project was appalling. Adam Gosling should never have been there at all as 15 year olds have been banned from working on construction sites since 1920.

'There was a complete disregard for basic health and safety requirements - inadequate personal protective equipment, no risk assessments, no training and minimal supervision. There were no welfare facilities on site and the workers were not even covered by Employees Liability Insurance.

'We know there are many other sites with serious shortcomings but it is the duty of the contractors and employers to ensure that basic health and safety requirements are followed. The HSE will do all we can to ensure tragedies like this are avoided - we rely heavily on people contacting us with concerns and worries so that we can intervene before any more workers are killed in such tragic circumstances.'

Death of Darren Hoofe

Colin Cooper, a director of IC Roofing of Lower Dicker, appeared at Eastbourne Magistrates Court at the beginning of May 2008 to face manslaughter and health-and-safety charges in relation to the death of employee Darren Hoofe. Darren died after falling 20ft through a roof skylight onto a factory floor.

The incident happened at the Bellbrook Industrial Estate, Uckfield, on November 29, 2005.

The case was adjourned for a preliminary hearing at Lewes Crown Court on May 30.

In July 2008 Cooper pleaded not guilty to one count of manslaughter and one count of failing to discharge a health-and-safety duty.

The company was also charged with the same two counts for Darren's death. All four charges were denied.

Detective Inspector Colin Dowle, of Sussex Police, said, 'This a particularly tragic event. We have worked closely with the HSE to bring this matter before the courts.'

Dave Rothery, the principal inspector for the HSE, said, 'This is a significant case. It brings to the attention of individuals that they may be charged with serious criminal offences if they fail to take adequate precautions under the law.'

Cooper's trial and that of his company began on January 5 2009 at Lewes Crown Court. Jurors were told that, at an earlier hearing that he had pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of an employee under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Cooper was sentenced to 12 months in prison after being convicted of manslaughter at Hove Crown Court on Thursday 22 January 2009.

Cooper had previously pleaded guilty to health and safety offences and was banned from being a director of a company for three years. His company, IC Roofing, was fined £10,000 for manslaughter and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.

Amanda Huff, HSE inspector, said, 'The tragedy of Darren Hoofe's death is that it was easily preventable. Colin Cooper had previously received warnings from the HSE and if these warnings had been heeded, Mr Hoofe would not have been killed.

'If there is to be any positive outcome from this tragic death it has to be that employers realise the seriousness of breaches to health and safety legislation. Ignoring legislation puts people's lives at risk and can lead to serious consequences in court.

Death of Wu Zhu Weng

Wu Zhu Weng, a Chinese national working for Alcon Construction, died after being left at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital by two colleagues on January 31 2008. He had been working on the refurbishment of The Panary, a bakery and café, in Trowse where he fell from height.

Sharaz Butt, company director at Norwich-based Alcon Construction, was charged with Wu’s manslaughter, along with four other offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Mr Butt appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court on May 14 2008 when he entered no plea to the manslaughter charge.

Mr Butt was released on bail under the condition he reported to police at Bethel Street station every Saturday and surrendered his passport. He was to appear at Norwich Crown Court on May 28 2008.

Det Sgt Richard Rallison, from the force's major investigation team, said, 'A joint investigation was launched by Norfolk police in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Mr Butt was charged with manslaughter along with four other offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act in relation to this incident.'

The death was the latest in a series of fatalities on refurbishment sites across the UK. The HSE says the number of deaths on such sites rose by 61pc in the past year as a total of 23 people were killed.

Stephen Williams, HSE's chief inspector of construction, said, 'It is totally unacceptable that so many lives have been lost and continue to be put at risk on construction sites, particularly within the refurbishment sector.

'We will continue to take firm action against rogue elements who ignore safety precautions. Sites where health and safety is taken seriously have nothing to fear, but we will root out those that put lives at risk.'

According to Contract Journal of 24 April 2008 recent provisional HSE figures showed 69 construction workers died in workplace accidents in 2007/08.

UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie said, 'Although the death toll for construction has dropped slightly, these figures remain appalling, practically six building workers are killed every month.'

Butt pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July 2008 at Norwich Crown Court and also admitted three health and safety offences on behalf of the company, including failing to ensure the safety of employees and failing to give staff proper training.

Following the fall, Butt drove Wu to hospital and told medics the injuries happened when he fell down a flight of stairs at his home - although defence barrister Michael Clare said this was due to translation problems rather than a deliberate attempt to hide the truth.

Prosecutor Shauna Ritch told the court that Wu had actually fallen 13ft when he stumbled through the skylight which was covered only by a thin plastic sheet and was not marked out as a hazard.

She added, 'There was no regard for health and safety at the site. There was a generally poor standard of equipment being offered to the workers who were largely non-English speakers and it was not clear how he communicated with them.”

The court heard how workers at the site rarely wore hard hats or other protection and there were open excavations at the site which were not guarded.

None of the builders, who were from India and China, were registered with Inland Revenue and, as part of their pay, were housed in a hotel in Norwich which Butt's firm was supposed to be renovating. The project had not been registered with the Health and Safety Executive which would have allowed officers to warn Butt of any risks.

Investigators found only the most basic of policies to prevent accidents and identify risks and even this was ignored. Ms Ritch said, 'This would have been insufficient but, had it been adhered to, it would have at least provided some protection.'

In August 2008 Butt was jailed for 12 months and disqualified from acting as a company director. Judge Peter Jacobs also ordered the company to pay a nominal fine of £10 after hearing that it had virtually no money or assets.

He added, 'I would like to make it clear that in normal circumstances the fine would run into tens of thousands of pounds.'

Mr Jacobs told Butt that his disregard of health and safety procedures was 'total lunacy'.

He added, 'You showed complete cynicism towards the people who were working for you who it seems were coming here as illegal immigrants and were just grateful for the work, no questions asked.

'This case shows why health and safety legislation exists - it is there to protect people and prevent fatalities.'

Peter Nickerson, HM inspector of heath and safety from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said he was pleased with the outcome from the court case.

He said, 'The sentence imposed illustrates the extremely serious nature of health and safety regulations. They have fallen far below the standards expected in this case.

'In this case a few simple banners would have prevented a tragedy. Health and safety should be managed, not just in the planning stage but then controlled by approved measures.

'In 2006 and 2007 there were 23 fatalities out of 77 incidents in the construction industry. The construction industry must address and manage this.'

Death of Conor Bogues and Donall Gibson

In Belfast on 26 June 2008, Conrad Zych, the Owner/Skipper of the fishing vessel Greenhill was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for each charge of unlawful killing of Donall Gibson and Connor Bogues, with sentences to run concurrently. Conrad Zych had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing on 20th May 2008. A joint investigation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency was conducted into why the Greenhill had grounded and subsequently sank near the entrance to her home port of Ardglass. The two crew men were lost and to date only the body of Donal has been recovered.

On the morning of 19th January 2006 the Greenhill sailed with a crew of three; Conrad Zych, 28, Donall Gibson, 22 and Connor Bogues, 24. The boat spent the day trawling for prawns to the East of Ardglass. They stopped fishing at around 1600hrs on order to return to port. Conrad Zych admitted that he spent much of the return journey away from the wheelhouse working with the crew in the shelter deck, processing the prawns. He occasionally stepped back up into the wheelhouse to check their location before returning again to the deck. The weather that night was quite strong southerly winds with occasional rain showers. The sea was moderately rough.

At 2016 hours Falmouth Coastguard received a signal from an Emergency Position Indicating Rescue Beacon (EPIRB). The Portaferry Lifeboat 'Blue Peter 5' was launched and at 2120 it located the liferaft from the Greenhill, but only the skipper was found inside.

Skipper Zych told police that he had been working on the deck and when the boat grounded he ran to the wheelhouse and put the engines full astern. The boat backed off the rocks sustaining serious damage and began to fill with water. The skipper instructed the crew to fetch their lifejackets from the cabin, but it was already flooded and so they launched the liferaft. All three jumped into the water. Only the skipper managed to climb into the liferaft.

The search continued all night for the missing crew, however no other survivors were found. Divers subsequently found the body of Donall on the 22nd January.

In summing up, the judge His Honour John Hart said that the skipper's neglect of essential safety precautions could not be excused, and that his neglect to keep a proper lookout amounted to gross negligence and led directly to this terrible tragedy. He added 'that the failure to keep a proper watch is a not uncommon practice cannot exculpate the defendant from punishment, nor should it affect the nature of the punishment.'

Before sentencing Conor's mother, Mrs Bogues, told the court her son had been a fisherman for six years prior to the accident and was a friend of the captain. 'I just feel all the families have been through enough, including Conrad's family and Conrad himself. I think it should just end here and you should let him go home to his family,' she said. Mrs Bogues said Conrad had' suffered enough' and would have to live with the deaths of his two friends and colleagues 'for the rest of his life.'

Captain Bill Bennett, the Area Operations Manager (Survey and Inspection) of the MCA in Northern Ireland said, 'We cannot over emphasise the importance of keeping a good lookout. Fishing vessel skippers are not only responsible for their own safety, but that of their vessel and its crew. Keeping a good lookout does not only make practical sense and is good seamanship, it is also required under the International Regulations for the Prevention of collisions at Sea .'

Death of Mark Spiers

In Belfast Magistrate's Court in May 2008 Kevin Trainor pleaded guilty to two common law charges: the first being endangering a boat causing loss of life, and the second charge of endangering the boat causing the loss of the boat by capsize. He was sentenced at Downpatrick Crown Court on 23 June to 18 months in jail suspended for three years.

In passing sentence the judge told him that was it not for the fact that it had taken so long for the case to come to court he would not have suspended the sentence.

In January 2002 the fishing vessel 'Charisma' sank in Carlingford Lough, Northern Ireland, causing the death of crewman Mark Spiers.

The boat was a small day working mussel dredger of 9.8 meters length which was operated by a skipper and two crew men. On the weekend before the accident the skipper's father and owner of the boat, James Trainor had removed the emergency bilge pump from the engine room leaving a 4 inch hole in the boat's side. Before the boat went to sea on the 30th January the skipper Kevin Trainor said that he had fitted a wooden bung into the hole from inside the engine room.

The boat began fishing on 30th January 2002, and by the afternoon had about five tonnes of mussels on the deck. They failed to make the tide and so were unable to discharge the catch. The next day they continued to fish and by noon on the 31st January 2002 with about 7.5 tonnes of mussels on the deck the boat slowly turned over and capsized.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) assisted the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and the Public Prosecution Service in the investigation.

Captain David Carlisle of the MCA Belfast Office, who was part of the investigating team said, 'This tragic incident could have been avoided had the appropriate procedures been taken. It is also known that the deceased man was not wearing a lifejacket at the time he went into the water.'

Death of Daniel Dennis

Daniel, a roofer, died in April 2003 when he fell through a skylight in the roof of a Matalan store at the Cwmbran Retail Park, Torfan, Gwent. Daniel had just started his first job with the roofing company and had not received any safety training or instruction on working at heights. His father had even contacted Roy Clark who traded as North Eastern Roofing to warn him about his lack of training and experience. He was able to walk across part of the roof to access materials and the skylight, which was not cordoned off, gave way under his weight causing him to fall approximately 28ft (9m) to the floor below.

The inquest was held at Gwent Coroner’s Court in Newport on 15 March 2005. The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing in less than 10 minutes.

Despite the inquest verdict the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to bring charges of gross negligence manslaughter against Daniel’s employer. Daniel’s father, Peter Dennis, commented, 'The CPS failed to bring charges which left us flabbergasted. Our son was killed within days of starting work, but there was no accountability for his employer. How is that justice? We want to ensure that other families never go through what we have.' Allan Garley, regional secretary of the GMB, said in April 2006, 'The death of a 17-year-old boy in his first week at work is an absolute tragedy. The GMB isn't after vengeance, but we want employers who kill workers to be properly held to account.'

Lawyers acting on behalf of Daniel’s family sought a judicial review of the decision made by the CPS. It is only the second time that the CPS has been brought to court in respect of a fatal accident at work. The review commenced at the High Court on 30th November.

In December 2006 Lord Justice Waller in the High Court judge ruled the matter should be referred back to the CPS. Giving his ruling on 29 December Lord Justice Waller said there were 'failures' over factors which influenced the CPS not to prosecute. The judge said a solicitor acting for the CPS did not take into account the 'seriousness of a failure to give proper instruction not to go on the roof prior to induction or proper instruction'. He also said the CPS had not taken sufficient account of the Newport inquest jury's unlawful killing verdict in March last year.

The judge said the matter should be referred back to the CPS and that it was possible that a different decision could be made when these factors are taken into consideration but the the final decision would still rest with the CPS.

After the ruling Peter Dennis said, 'This decision gives us some hope this new year that justice for Daniel will finally be achieved.'

Mick Antoniw, one of the solicitor's acting for Daniel's family, said, 'This is a landmark ruling as it's only the second case where the courts have interfered in a workplace death. We now expect the CPS to review and overhaul the way they consider the evidence in cases involving workplace deaths.'

In October 2007 Gwent Crown Prosecution Service reversed its decision and said it would now prosecute Roy Clark the owner of North Eastern Roofing. Mick Antoniw said, 'There are lessons to learn. In future, it’s essential for the CPS to become more proactive and to take a greater interest in workplace fatalities and develop greater expertise in health and safety law.'

Roy Clark entered no plea when he appeared before Cwmbran magistrates charged with Daniel's manslaughter. He was due before Newport Crown Court on November 22 2007.

On the eve of the trial in April 2008 Roy Clark admitted the manslaughter charge.

On 6 May 2008 at Swansea Crown Court Clark was jailed for 10 months.

Trial judge Mr Justice John Griffith Williams pointed out Clark had twice been warned by the Health and Safety Executive before Daniel’s death. The first time was in 1997 when Clark’s employees working on a roof were found to be dangerously close to skylights. The second was in 1999 when some of his workers were seen standing too close to the edge of a building.

As well as being jailed yesterday, he was also ordered to pay £17,900 in costs. The court heard Clark and his wife Janet, also one of his employees, earned £70,000 from the firm in 2007.

The judge told Clark, 'Your admitted breach of your duty of care to Daniel Dennis led to the loss of a young life so full of promise. As his mother so movingly said in her victim impact statement, he was a 17-year-old whose enthusiasm for life was breathtaking and he filled the room with jokes and a wicked sense of humour.

'One in five construction deaths are due to falls from height and as a man with 32 years experience in the industry the dangers should have been only too obvious to you.'

After the conviction Daniel’s father said, 'This was not revenge. There is no way in my mind that Roy Clark maliciously went out to kill my son but he had a duty of care to look after him and make sure he was safe.

'He’s now learned a harsh lesson though I do not want to see anyone going to jail. Clark should have looked after my son.'

Death of Paul Alker

Paul, a roofing contractor, fell through a skylight at a Wrexham store
and died in Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Steven Smith, 36, from Rhostyllen, near Wrexham, admitted manslaughter, intending to pervert the course of justice and health and safety breaches.

Sentencing at Mold Crown Court was adjourned until 29 November, but Smith was told prison was inevitable.

Smith, a director of Wrexham Roofing Services, had previously indicated not guilty pleas, and a trial had been planned in December. But after a sentencing indication from the judge, he admitted manslaughter by gross negligence.

The charge stated that Smith failed to ensure Paul had sufficient training, knowledge or experience to carry out work at dangerous heights, or to carry out roofing works.

He also failed to ensure people working on the roof had safety harnesses.

Smith admitted a second charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of Paul and his colleague Aaron Pugh under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

In addition, he admitted a third charge of doing acts intending to pervert the course of justice - by installing safety harnesses after the accident and pretending they had been present.

Judge John Rogers QC said Smith's guilty pleas would make a substantial difference to the length of his sentence, but a prison sentence would be inevitable.

Smith was jailed for a total of two and a half years.

Death of 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 will 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 - 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.'

Death of Krisztian Takacs

Krisztian, a 26-year-old Hungarian, died in an explosion and a fire at a boat yard, which also left the boat owner with severe burns.

Krisztian and Philip Wyman the owner had been carrying out work on the moored vessel's hull in Smith Quay, Woolston, in Southampton. It was thought a blast, which caused the fire to spread throughout the boat, happened as the men smelted lead. Krisztian suffered smoke inhalation and died in the fire on the 48ft (14.6m) boat.

It was announced in August 2006 that Philip Roger Wyman had been charged with manslaughter. He was also charged with three health and safety offences.

Mr Wyman was found guilty of Krisztian's manslaughter by a jury at Winchester Crown Court in February 2007. Wyman who denied manslaughter and breaching the Health and Safety Act was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The jury was not asked for a verdict on alternative charges of breaching Health and Safety legislation.

Mr Justice Royce is quoted as saying to Mr Wyman, 'A fire started. You managed to escape. He sadly did not.'

Both Krisztian and Wyman were on board the partially built yacht melting lead for the keel using propane gas cylinders.

In court it was alleged that Wyman's gross negligence had caused the fire. Expert witnesses said working conditions on the boat constituted 'an immediate and serious risk'.

The court heard that Mr Wyman had failed to fit regulators on gas bottles that Mr Takacs was using to melt lead for the keel in the hull. Gas appliances without regulators can make larger flames but are less controllable.

Stuart Hamilton, health and safety inspector, told the court he found no evidence that regulators had been used, ‘I'm sure an in-line regulator, which is a solid metal block, would have survived the fire and been found nearby.’

He added: ‘If Mr Wyman had brought the cylinders for use he should have known, or been advised of, the type of regulator that should be fitted to reduce the pressure in the hose and the risk of leaks.’

The prosecution said Mr Wyman had a ‘thoroughly unsafe system of work’ and ‘something of a cavalier approach to assembling the equipment for this dangerous operation’.

The court heard Krisztian – who was inexperienced and had poor English – should not have been melting inside the boat because it was full of inflammable materials and poisonous fumes.

Death of David Bail

Michael Shaw and Gavin Shaw, directors and business owners of Change of Style, a stone-cutting company in Totton on the outskirts of Southampton, were charged with the manslaughter of David Bail, a 22 year old employee.

The manslaughter trial opened in June 2006 at Winchester Crown Court. The prosecution told the court that the pair were responsible for David's death because they switched off vital safety equipment. The trial heard that a light beam system that would have stopped the machine if anyone got too close had been deactivated. David died from massive head injuries.

Witnesses said Michael Shaw had said the stoppages cost too much time and money.

Mr Shaw denied any responsibility throughout a three-week trial that ended with a hung jury on 2 August but he changed his plea at Winchester Crown Court the next day. He received a two-year suspended prison sentence.

The judge, Mr Justice Owen, said the only reason he had suspended the sentence was because jail would jeopardise the future of the company which employs 25 people. 'Some may feel you have got off lightly. But you will have to live out your days in the knowledge that you are responsible for that terrible tragedy, the needless death of this young man.'

Outside court, David's sister, Georgina Bail, 27, said of the sentence, 'I'm outraged. They have taken away my brother, my soulmate, my best friend. My life has been torn apart. I wouldn't like to put into words what I think of Mr Shaw. We're quite glad he has admitted it but it has taken him three years,' she said.

David's father Chris said, 'At least another tragedy has been prevented because of the safety checks at this and other places. As a family we would not want to bear the loss of 25 people's livelihoods. If he was jailed he would only do 12 months.'

Michael Shaw and the company were fined a total of £70,000 for ten breaches of health and safety regulations. His son, Gavin Shaw, was fined £1,500 for one health and safety breach. He was earlier cleared of a manslaughter charge due to the lack of evidence.

A manslaughter charge against the firm was ordered to lie on file. The court heard that Peter Cowley, production manager at the time of the death, had pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety regulations. Magistrates fined him £600 and ordered him to pay £100 costs.

In September 2006 an inquest jury at Hampshire Coroner's Court returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

Detective Sergeant Steve Edbury, of Hampshire Police, who led the investigation, told the jury that the automated machine, which cut stone for fireplaces and kitchen worktops, had light sensors around it that immediately stopped the machine when someone broke the continuous beam.

It also had hinged guards that, if lowered when the machine was working, would break a circuit and stop it. But Mr Edbury said these safety devices had been bypassed to make the machine more efficient because if it was stopped it had to start the programme again costing time and money.

'It was common knowledge that the photo-electric beam had been deliberately defeated,' the coroner Mr Wiseman said. 'It's a case so fundamental, if one wasn't careful, one would be running a factory back to Victorian times.

'Sadly, sometimes because of a wish to retain employment or whatever the combination of factors, that even where there are a significant number of people involved the whistle is not necessarily blown on the process itself.' Mr Wiseman told Mr Edbury, 'You have painted a really quite horrific picture of the way the factory was operating and the risks, indeed, that individuals were taking in relation to their own safety, let alone any question of guiding the company.'

In November 2006 Sir Ivor Judge presiding at the Criminal Appeal Court in London declared the suspended jail sentence 'too lenient' and imposed instead a 15 month jail term on Mr Shaw.

Sentencing Shaw, Sir Judge said, 'This disaster has been with you for three years - serving a sentence will help to expurgate the undoubted sense of guilt you feel. A young man lost his life because of the gross negligence of his employer. We emphasise health and safety in this place of employment was literally a matter of life and death. Here, safety was ignored for business convenience, at the peril of death. The machine and the other two had, in fact, been dangerous and potentially lethal from the day they were first installed some years earlier.'

Sir Ivor Judge said Shaw did not personally disable the safety devices, but through his guilty plea, acknowledged safety procedures in his premises were his responsibility.

Deaths of Colin Buckley, Darren Burgess, Chris Walters, Gary Tindall

Mark Connolly, the owner of MAC Railway Services, sub-contractors for Carillion rail, was found guilty on four counts of manslaughter and jailed for nine years. He was also found guilty on three counts of breaching Health and Safety laws. Roy Kennett, Mark Connolly's crane operator, was also found guilty on four counts of manslaughter and on a single count of breaching Health and Safety laws and jailed for two years.

Colin, Darren, Chris and Gary were among a group of ten workers, employed by Carillion Rail, who were carrying out maintenance work on the West Coast mainline.

During the eight week trial, the court was told how Connolly was responsible for the deaths of the four workers by failing to carry out vital repairs to the wagon. Jurors heard how the hydraulic brake system on the three tonne flatbed trailer was found to have been disconnected. Investigators also discovered the hydraulic tubes had been filled with ball bearings, rather than brake fluid, to give the impression that everything was above board. Instead, wooden chocks were being used to stop the trailer moving. But the wagon laden with the steel railway track over-ran the wooden chocks, travelling almost four miles down the track before hitting the four workers. Jurors also heard the men were unable to hear the approaching wagon because they were wearing helmets designed to protect against the noise of a generator.

The wagon travelled another four miles before coming to rest at a viaduct. Connolly was accused in court of deliberately sabotaging the wagon for financial gain.

'It is only right that bosses responsible for the avoidable deaths of workers should go to prison,' RMT, the rail union, general secretary Bob Crow said after the sentencing.

'Four men died at Tebay as the result of cynical and deliberate tampering with a vehicle to hide the fact that it was not fit for its purpose, and for no other reason than making money. One-man-and-a-dog outfits like Connolly's should never be allowed anywhere near our railways, and it is the crazy set-up that lets any number of subbies and agencies loose on the network that created the conditions for this tragedy to take place.'

'Network Rail have already brought rail maintenance back in-house for safety and efficiency reasons, and for exactly the same reasons they should bring all renewals work back in-house too,' Bob Crow added.

In February 2007 Mr Connolly appealed against his conviction and sentence.
After a three-hour hearing at London's Appeal Court Lord Justice Pill refused Mark Connolly's legal team permission to use fresh evidence in the case.

Connolly's lawyers claimed he had every reason to believe that any risk of disaster would be averted because of safety guidelines requiring that timber sleepers be laid across tracks where workmen are employed.

Mr Richard Lissack QC said the new point he wished to explore focused on a new 'safety bulletin' issued last year in the wake of an accident near King's Cross station which he said demonstrated the importance of maintaining gradient protection.

But Lord Justice Pill, refusing the application to bring in fresh evidence, said the new guidance did not apply to the circumstances in which the Tebay tragedy occurred.

But the judge – sitting with Mr Justice Burton and Judge Findlay Baker QC – said he was now forced to adjourn the appeals brought by Connolly and his co-accused Roy Kennett to allow the men to present other grounds why their convictions should be overturned as 'unsafe'.

Both men are appealing against their convictions, while Connolly also argues that his jail term was 'manifestly excessive'.

In March 2007 Mark Connolly had his sentence cut from nine years to seven when he appeared before appeal court judges but they dismissed his appeal against his convictions.

After a hearing at London’s Criminal Appeal Court Lord Justice May declared his convictions entirely 'safe' – but concluded that his nine year sentence was 'rather too great'.

The judge also upheld the manslaughter convictions of Roy Kennett.

Christine Burgess, whose son Darren was one of four killed, said in reaction to the reduced sentence that she was 'disgusted' at the Appeal Court's decision.
She said her family was serving a life sentence because of their loss.

Back to the top

Death of Cockle Pickers

Lin Liang Ren was found guilty of 21 counts of manslaughter, guilty of conspiracy to commit facilitation ( a criminal offence of enabling illegal immigrants to work in this country) and guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, after a six month trial at Preston Crown Court.

The gangmaster, girlfriend Zhao Xiao Qing and cousin Lin Mu Yong were also convicted of facilitation - helping cocklers to break immigration laws. Lin Mu Yong, 31, was sentenced to four years and nine months. Zhao Xiao Qing, 21, got two years and nine months.

When they have served their sentences the Home Office will have to decide whether or not to deport the trio.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Henriques said Lin Liang Ren had, 'cynically and callously' exploited his countrymen and women and provided them with dreadful living conditions. He said the gangmaster had been motivated by avarice and displayed little regard for the safety of the cocklers. He described how Lin Liang Ren had waited 50 minutes before alerting the authorities to the impending disaster.

He said, 'Had you even then decided to evacuate the beach, there might have been no loss of life.'

Lin Liang Ren had also told a series of 'spectacular lies' to authorities in a bid to evade justice and displayed complete indifference to the fate of the victims, the judge said. He had attempted to blame everyone but himself for the deaths of the illegal Chinese workers.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Supt Mick Gradwell, who led the Lancashire Police investigation, said the force was pleased with the sentences. 'I think they reflect the seriousness of the offences and I'm hoping they will act as a deterrent to other people,' said Mr Gradwell.

'I hope lessons have been learned but it's not about just cockle pickers, it's the whole issue of illegal immigration. It's a truly awful type of slave trade, exploiting people in this way,' he added.

Outside court, ex-councillor Patricia England said there was an 'element of racism' about the fact all three Chinese defendants were convicted. There were also accusations of racism over the fact the two English defendants had been acquitted.

Ms England said, 'There is an element of racism here, justice here is more from our point of view, from our situation and our society, not from theirs.'

Gina Tam, translating on behalf of the brother of Lin Mu Yong, said the three defendants had been made 'scapegoats'. She said: "I think the Government is responsible, they knew they were there. This looks like a racist system to me - the three Chinese all guilty.'

The Morecambe MP Geraldine Smith told the inquest that she had warned about the area's dangerous currents and quicksands and asked the Immigration Service to be involved.

Ms Smith said that, despite Home Office claims, no action took place against illegal cocklers in Morecambe Bay the previous August. The information she was given had 'deliberately set out to deceive'. Immigration minister Beverly Hughes conceded there had been inaccuracies.

It was found that the Immigration Service had higher priorities since the workers were difficult to remove from the UK and would never testify against their gang masters. Ms Smith said she was told that 'resource issue' meant the Immigration Service had decided not to intervene.

Back to the top

Death of Mark Jones

Wayne Davis was convicted of the manslaughter of his employee 40 year old Mark Jones after a three week trial in Birmingham Crown Court in October 2005. He was sentenced in January 2006. Mark Jones and Adam Waygood (who was seriously injured) were building steel-frame barns at Hill Farm in Kinve, near Stourbridge, South Staffordshire when a home made overhead platform on top of a fork lift truck fell over throwing the two workers over 30 feet.

The trial heard that the two workers were not provided with any safety harnesses although they were working up to 30 feet high. A former employee also told the court that he was sacked because he refused to work at height with no safety equipment. This same employee told the court that he heard Mark Jones ask for harnesses or safety nets - but none were provided whilst he was employed. Mark Jones's wife also had raised concern about safety directly with Wayne Davies. The trial also heard evidence that there were faults on a fork list vehicle used by the workers. The vehicle's axle lock-out system was not working, the steering was very heavy, and a weight overload alert system was out of order.

In May 2006 Appeal Court judges upheld the manslaughter conviction for Wayne Davies. Judge Sir Michael Wright, dismissing Davies' challenge at London's Criminal Appeal Court, described the machinery as 'lethal and dangerous'. Sir Michael - sitting with Lord Justice Auld and Mr Justice Gibbs - said the machine had a 'plethora of faults'.

The court also heard that the widow of 40-year-old Mr Jones, from Ludlow, Shropshire, was unlikely to receive any compensation as Davies had possessed no employers' liability insurance.

Sir Michael said of Davies, 'His total disregard for the safety of his workmen calls for punishment of an exemplary nature.'

Back to the top

Death of Kevin Arnup

Paul White, who ran Knighton-based A&E Buildings, admitted committing the manslaughter of the company's foreman Kevin Arnup who was sucked into a shredder at the MV White's recycling plant at Ketteringham, near Norwich, in December 2003 and in September 2005 received a twelve month custodial sentence at Norwich Crown Court.

Kevin climbed into the paper-shredding machine to clear blockages when the machine started, fatally injuring him. The machine contained a series of hammers projecting 15cm from a shaft, which revolved at high speed.

The court heard that the mains current should have been switched off before anyone tried to clear a blockage, but it was common practice in the company for this rule to be ignored both by workers and by White himself.

Mr White’s company, M W White Ltd, received a fine of £30,000 under section 2(1) Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) charge with costs awarded to Health and Safety Executive and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of £55,000 (to be paid equally between Mr White and his company)

The sentencing followed a full investigation jointly carried between detectives from Norfolk Constabulary CID and inspectors from the HSE.

The extensive investigation revealed that the machine was not securely isolated whilst the unblocking work was being carried out (there was no local electrical isolator provided for the machinery), there was no safe system for such work and the electrical controls for the machine were contaminated with dust.

Commenting on the case, Minister for Health and Safety, Lord Hunt said, 'Tragic incidents in the workplace such as this are totally preventable. All employers must make the welfare of their employees a top priority by ensuring that safe systems of work are provided and maintained. There is also a need to make certain that employees are properly instructed in how to operate machinery to guard against any threat of injury or death.'

HSE investigating Principal Inspector, Paul Carter said, 'This was a horrific incident that was entirely foreseeable. Isolating the machinery, a safe system of work for clearing blockages, together with adequate instruction, training and supervision of Paul White’s staff would have prevented this incident. Evidence showed that Paul White chose not to follow the advice of his health and safety consultant and instead adopted a complacent attitude allowing the standards in his paper recycling business to fall.'

'I encourage all employers to take a fresh look at their business activities, review their risk assessments to ensure that sensible control measures are in place and that employees understand what is expected of them.'

Back to the top

Death of Daryl Arnold

Daryl and several others had been employed by Mr Lee Harper (the sole Director of Harper Building Contractors Ltd of Cannock, Staffordshire) to remove and replace the roof of a warehouse on the Lynton industrial estate in Salford. No safe system of work had been prepared before the work began and no safety precautions were in place at the time of the incident. Daryl had never worked on a roof before.

Whilst working on the roof, Daryl stepped backwards onto a fragile rooflight on an adjoining warehouse, which gave way. Daryl fell approximately 6.75m landing on the ground floor directly below. He died as a result of his injuries. Mr Harper, pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter and a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA). He was jailed for 16 months at Manchester Crown Court in January 2005.

Back to the top