Deaths in 2004

Deaths in 2005

Deaths in 2006

Deaths in 2007

Deaths in 2008

Deaths in 2004

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Deaths in 2005

Click on the names below for further case details

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Deaths in 2006

Click on the names below for further case details

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Deaths in 2007

Click on the names below for further case details

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Deaths in 2008

Click on the names below for further case details

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FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS

Steve Linforth

Stephen Linforth was caught between the forks of an oncoming six-tonne truck and the load of his own truck. He had got out of his cab just before the incident. He was a new employee and may have been checking his load was correct. Steve died from multiple injuries.

The driver who hit him has disappeared and police believe he may have left the country. Henry Brown may have returned to his native Jamaica after leaving his lodgings in Widnes. But in a statement given to the company before he disappeared, Mr Brown had said he never looked down the warehouse aisle as he drove down it.

The investigation into the case was made by the Environmental Health Officer of Halton Borough Council.

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 23 May 2005.

The court heard that Mr Brown was not wanted for a criminal offence in relation to the incident, and that he was a slow worker and also a new employee. Mr Rheinberg said, ' Perhaps that is the tragedy of it. Mr Brown was so busy not wanting to make a mistake that he didn't look where he was going.'

'He never saw Mr Linforth's truck despite the fact that it was a huge vehicle and he never saw Mr Linforth despite the fact that he was wearing a high visibility jacket," he added.

A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

EXEL logistics has made improvements to the warehouse lighting and pedestrian areas since the incident.

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Michael Alty

Michael fell to his death through a fragile roof on to the concrete floor below while replacing roof lights at the former ICI warehouse in Winnington Lane, Northwich. Michael was working as supervisor for D A Carter with another employee at the warehouse, owned by Winnington Warehousing Limited.

Michael went up a ladder to replace translucent lights on a roof, made from asbestos cement sheets, approximately 6m off the ground. As he replaced a roof light, the asbestos sheet gave way and he fell approximately 6m to the concrete floor below.

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 19 October 2005. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

In August 2006 D A Carter Ltd was fined £7,500 after admitting breaching health and safety obligations. D A Carter Limited pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in that they did not take reasonably practicable, suitable and effective measures to prevent anyone falling from height during work on the roof of the warehouse.

'It is essential that companies carry out a risk assessment before any work at height to minimise the possibility of an incident,' said Sarah Wadham, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Construction Inspector.

During the investigation into the accident it was found that the company had not completed a risk assessment for the work. Suitable and sufficient measures, such as the use of proprietary equipment, were not used to prevent falls, no edge protection - such as scaffolding - was erected and access to the roof lights was made by walking across the asbestos cement roof.

During the case brought by the HSE, Vale Royal Magistrates' Court heard that D A Carter Ltd had 'failed to provide a risk assessment, method statement, scaffolding, staging, roof ladders or nets' to facilitate safe working on the 8m high sloping roof.

Prosecuting, Simon Parrington said, 'On March 8, Mr Alty and his colleague went to replace a number of lights which were allowing water to leak through the roof. They were equipped only with replacement lights, tools, a ladder up to the roof secured using only a Bunchy strap and a cat ladder, which was left on the ground, despite the fact that D A Carter Ltd owns equipment including scaffolding, crawling boards and harnesses. As a result, Mr Alty and his colleague took a great risk every time they climbed on to the roof during the three-day period, as well as every time they moved around on top of the roof.'

Mr Parrington told the court that, rather than using crawl boards designed to form a safe pathway across the roof, Mr Alty and his colleague were 'bolt jumping', a practice involving leaping across the roof on bolts holding the roof to steel girders inside the building. On March 10, Mr Alty was in the process of installing a new light close to the centre of the roof when he fell to his death.

Mr Parrington said, 'His colleague had his back turned at the time but spun round when he heard a crack. However, Mr Alty had already fallen through the roof on to the concrete floor a considerable distance below.'

Mr Parrington said, 'It is the company's responsibility to ensure the safety of its workers. Our inspectors, however, found that no written risk assessment or method statement - the means of identifying and mitigating against the risk of falls - had been produced prior to the job. The death of Mr Alty is the aggravating factor in this case.'

In a plea for leniency defence solicitor Simon Antrobus expressed the regret of Mr and Mrs Carter at the accident. 'He and Mr Carter had worked alongside one another before Mr Carter set up the business, and he was the head foreman for every job the company performed between its inception in 1993 and the events of March 2004.'

'Mr Alty's death savaged the company financially, but also left Mr Carter's enthusiasm and abilities to run the business waning.'

Dr Ken Baird, chairman of the Bench, said, 'We have taken into account that this accident may not have happened if D A Carter had taken sufficient safety measures, and that the accident led to Mr Alty's death. The mitigating factors we have considered are: the company has co-operated fully with the HSE investigation; the Health and Safety training undertaken since the accident; and the company's ability to continue trading after receiving a fine for this offence. The other factor is D A Carter pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity.'

'We have therefore decided to impose a fine of £7,500, as well as a contribution of £5,000 to prosecution costs.'

Speaking after the verdict, HSE Inspector Sarah Wadham, who attended the scene, said, 'Falls through fragile roofs account for one in five fatalities in the construction industry. Reasonable and practical steps could have been taken to avoid this accident, which led to the unnecessary loss of a young man's life.'

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Joseph Pigott

Joseph, a farmer at The Manor Farm in Shocklach, was was releasing a 600-kilo Friesian bull into a pen at The Manor Farm in Shocklach when he was thrown to the ground and received severe head injuries.

Joseph's son and daughter Adrian and Andrea who were working alongside him got the bull away from their 77-year-old father and called an ambulance.

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 11 October 2004 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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John Rowland

John Rowland, a warehouseman, died from serious injuries sustained when struck by a falling pallet. He died at the premises of Tibbett & Britten, Preston Brook, Whitehouse Industrial Estate in Runcorn.

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 27 and 28 March 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Peter Roberts

Peter, a piling rig operator, died in the Countess of Chester hospital, from head injuries sustained in an incident earlier in the day at a site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

The incident happened when a blockage occurred in a concrete delivery pipe. The foreman blew compressed air through the pipe to unblock it, which caused the pipe to swing free wildly, knocking Peter on the head. His employer Dawson WAM Ltd. was working for the client and principal contractor Quinn Glass Ltd.

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 26 and 27 September 2005 sitting in Warrington Town Hall. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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John Gibbs

John, an HGV driver, had worked for PE Blake and Son Ltd haulage and tanker hire company in Little Leigh for 35 years when he fell from the roof of a tanker after releasing the safety rail. John temporarily regained consciousness but died at Warrington General Hospital six days later.

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court in October 2005.

John's wife Joan told the hearing that John left home early to collect a Manchester load but returned to the Heath Lane workplace when the job was cancelled to replace lid seals on the roof of a tanker.

When foreman driver Brian Lewis saw John working atop the wagon he noticed the safety handrail lowered. He said, 'The procedure is to use it once you are on top but it was lowered, which is not in accordance with company proceedings.'

But HGV driver Darren Chantler confirmed John, who had previously suffered from vertigo, had been using the rail just 20 minutes before he fell. He added, 'He banged his elbow and he shouted and swore at the raised handrail then threw it down. 'Later I heard a noise and looked up to see John falling towards me. I put my hands up to try to catch him but did not succeed.'

Health and Safety inspector John McGrellis, who confirmed the rail was in a good state of repair, said John's stance with one foot on the serrated catwalk platform and the other on the skin of the tanker may have contributed to the fall. He added, 'Even if the handrail was up it might not have prevented it because of Mr Gibbs' position. Falls from tankers are not the most frequent but 10 per cent of these do result in fatalities.'

Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said, 'The circumstances of what happened are tragically simple.'

A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Christopher Brierton

Christopher, a construction worker from Riston in Blackburn, was run over and killed by a caterpillar tracked excavator. Christopher who was working for the North Yorkshire firm York House Construction suffered massive trauma including crushing injuries to his head and chest and a possible punctured lung. He suffered a cardiac arrest and was taken to Warrington Hospital but died later in the morning.

York House Construction was building a new warehouse for the plastic cartridge manufacturer Fischback UK Ltd. on Warrington Road.

The incident was initially investigated by the police but was then handed over to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court sitting in Warrington Town Hall on 6 November 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Joshua Beswick

Joshua, a construction worker from Widnes, was run over and killed by a 16 ton loading shovel on Wednesday at the site of Grundy & Co. Excavations Ltd. based at the Liver Yard, Ditton Road, Widnes. The company reclaims building materials for the construction industry.

The inquest took place on 14 November 2006 at Cheshire Coroner's Court, sitting in Warrington Town Hall, when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

In September 2007 Grundy and Co Excavations Ltd was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £9.034 costs by Warrington Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 2 (1) that they failed to ensure the safety of their employee Joshua by the provision of safe working systems.

Health and Safety Executive Inspector John McGrellis said, 'This was a totally avoidable accident, had safe-working systems been in place. Every effort needs to be made to separate vehicles and pedestrians to avoid tragic consequences. Where vehicles and pedestrians use the same routes they should be separated, with appropriate crossing points clearly marked and signposted where necessary.

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Raymond Schofield and Stephen Coulter

Raymond and Stephen were killed while working on the M6 motorway, when a car driven by a member of the public, Mrs Mehrunnisa Yusef, ploughed into a coned area. The incident happened on the M6 southbound carriageway near Knutsford between junctions 19 and 20. Mrs Yusef also died in the incident.

Raymond and Stephen were traffic management operatives who were completing a closure of the M6 in preparation for repairs to the central barrier.

The inquest was held at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 18 October 2005.

Eyewitnesses told the inquest at Warrington how Mrs Yusef had weaved between a minibus and a 35-tonne articulated lorry as traffic slowed down to 50mph at the road-works. Police accident investigator PC Michael Prime said Mrs Yusef was travelling at more than 80mph when she ploughed into Raymond and Stephen.

The court heard that Mrs Yusef was being treated for psychiatric problems, including severe Pre-Menstrual Tension (PMT) on the months leading up to the accident. The day before the crash, she visited psychiatrist Dr Kumar Singh because her menstrual cycle was due to begin. Dr Singh said the patient had been warned the anti-depressants she had been proscribed could make her drowsy and she should not drive if feeling tired or lethargic.

Dr Singh said Mrs Yusef had complained of marriage problems and wished to leave her husband and was suffering pressure from her family. He said she also felt lonely after relocating to Preston from Essex. Dr Singh diagnosed Mrs Yusef as suffering from a condition where she sometimes fell into a 'fugue' and, although functioning normally, would have no memory of her actions. A symptom of the condition is that patients often undertake pointless journeys. On one occasion last year, Mrs Yusef had driven to Watford on a whim and on the night of the accident had decided to go for a drive on the M6.

Eyewitness Ian Nicholson, of Didcot, Oxfordshire, described his disbelief at Mrs Yusef's driving seconds before the smash. 'I just couldn't believe what I was seeing,' he told the court. 'The car pulled up beside us and undertook us on the inside then it pulled out in front of us, behind a lorry, before losing control and hitting the side of the motorway workers' lorry before hitting the two men.'

Tests on Mrs Yusef's car revealed that both her rear tyres were under-inflated. PC Prime said, 'The under-inflated tyres would cause considerable handling difficulties if the car was forced to make a severe movement.'

The jury returned verdicts of unlawful killing in relation to both Raymond's and Stephen's deaths and of accidental death in relation to Mrs Yusef.

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Anthony, a bricklayer, fell when a wall was blown down on him in strong winds at Broadhurst Manor, Moston. Anthony died two weeks later from his injuries.

The inquest took place at Cheshire Coroner's Court, sitting in Warrington Town Hall, on 7 November 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Lee, a fitter, died in the jaws of a forklift truck at the Widnes based Sheerfab cabinet-maker factory where he had worked for 11 years..

There was no inquest but in October 2007 Shearfab Ltd admitted health and safety breaches along with Lee's employer Andrew Carter, who was found guilty of the same offences, and not guilty of Lee’s manslaughter.

The company was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs while Carter was fined £2,000 plus £1,000 costs, at Chester Crown Court.

During the trial the facts surrounding Lee's death emerged. Lee was working with manager Andrew Carter. He was fixing together cabinets which needed to be attached together using bolts placed through pre-drilled holes.

The fitter would climb on to the body of the forklift truck, leaning through the mast and forks to reach and align the holes. But as the forks were raised and lowered, one of the cabinets began to fall, prompting Carter to instinctively move to catch them.

Lee, who was in his precarious position and had his foot on the dashboard of the forklift, inadvertently moved backwards on to the lever, causing the forks to rise. He was crushed in front of his workmates and died instantly from severe injuries to his head, chest and back.

After the trial detectives condemned the work practices at the Widnes firm as 'foolhardy, dangerous, and illegal'. Simon Price, of Cheshire police, said, 'Lee Alexander should not have died. His was an avoidable, pointless and unnecessary death in an environment where an accident was waiting to happen.

'If the company who employed him had dutifully exercised their responsibility to ensure his safety, his parents and family would not be here at court today grieving the loss of their son.'

Lee’s distraught family called on companies to learn lessons from the tragic incident and said his death had left behind a huge void in their life.
A statement read, 'As a family we are still coming to terms with the loss of Lee – nothing could prepare us for what happened to him. The fact that it has taken 18 months for us to find out what really happened to him on the day he died has been a very hard time for our family. Lee’s larger than life personality is missed by everyone – his family and his many friends.

'The only positive thing we can take from his death is that lessons are learned from what has happened to Lee. General health and safety is not something to be taken for granted and hopefully another family does not go through what we are going through.'

Health and Safety inspector Iain Evans said, 'This was a tragic accident which could have been avoided. Forklift trucks were responsible for just under 2,000 reportable incidents last year, including seven deaths.'

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Fred was killed after being hit by a reversing potato harvester trailer while helping to gather the crop at Greenbank Farm, Frodsham Road, where he lived with brother Geoff..

The inquest took place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 26 March 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Martin Denton

Martin died while carrying out maintenance work on a crane at Millennium Rubber in Macclesfield. Martin was being lifted on a forklift truck in a cage which fell 15 ft.

The inquest is due to take place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set.

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Daniel was crushed to death by a fork-lift stacker truck at the Widnes factory of Merseyside Coatings. The truck appears to have over-turned and trapped Daniel underneath.

The inquest took place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 29 March 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Derek Barely

Derek, an electrical engineer, was attending a power cut at a gas storage plant in Byley on the outskirts of Middleton. While there he was hit by a tree, which fell in high winds, and he suffered severe head and chest injuries.

Derek was rushed to Leighton Hospital in Crewe but despite the efforts of staff died two hours later.

The inquest took place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 9 October 2007 when the jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

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Dave Threadgold

Dave died early after getting into difficulty while manoeuvring bales of wet hay around a bend in the road, just yards from his home at Wooleys Farm in Hollin Lane, Aston. After loosening straps on the bales on a trailer, some of them fell and crushed him to death.

His wife said, ‘It was his last load of the day but they were an odd shape and weighed a couple of tons.'

The inquest took place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 10 July 2008 when the jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

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Matthew Cummins

Matthew, a manager at High Leigh Country Park and Golf Club, was found by his wife lying with a broken neck at the side of a bin. Matthew died from a broken neck and sustained a fractured wrist trying to break his fall.

The inquest took place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 10 July 2008 when the jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

John Burgess, a handyman at the course, said he saw Matthew three times trying to compact rubbish in the bins. 'It was something I chastised him for a couple of times,' he said. 'I had a health and safety background and with glass in the bins there was an obvious danger, but the first time I had a go at him he just smiled.' He said that Matthew, who built the golf course on his own land before selling it on, was fastidious about tidiness and organisation.

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Timothy Cross

Timothy, from North Wales, was crushed while working in a 'cherry picker' and died the next day from his injuries. The incident took place at Pavilion Buildings in Chester Business Park.

The inquest is to take place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set.

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Margaret Chinn

Margaret died when she was run over by a forklift truck as she crossed a road inside the Bentley Motors site, in Crewe, just days before she was due to retire.

Margaret suffered multiple injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. She had worked at the Pyms Lane factory for 23 years.

The inquest took place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on 8 September 2008. Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg told the jury they had to decide between death as a result of an accident or misadventure or an open verdict. The jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

PC Steve Binns, a collision investigator, carried out a reconstruction of the crash with officials from the Health and Safety Executive.

Mr Binns told the inquest, 'The driver had restricted view to the front due to the size and shape of the load, however, he had view to the left and right and over the top. Mrs Chinn was not using one of the designated crossing points when the collision occurred. The forklift truck would have been in the view of Mrs Chinn as she crossed Second Street.'

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Ian was unloading scrap metal at Hob Lane Farm in Dunham-on-the-Hill when his 17-tonne flat-back wagon tipped over. No-one else was present.

Neighbours heard the crash and tried to find farm machinery to life the wagon but realised Ian had died.

Farm owners Tom and Dorothy Ithel came home later to find the road closed and police and paramedics trying to establish what had happened. Mr Ithel had known Ian for more than 15 years, having worked with him on motorway repair teams.

The inquest is due to take place at Cheshire Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set.

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