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Deaths
in 2001
Deaths in 2001
Deaths in 2002
Click on the names below for further case details
No details of deaths available No details of deaths available Click on the names below for further case details
Click on the names below for further case details
FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS Ernest Edward Croot
Ernest was found dead at 8am after having fallen into a garden pond while walking around in the dark in a confused state at Paddock House, Wellington Rd., Eye, Suffolk where he resided. The inquest was held at Lowestoft Coroner’s Court on 30 May 2001. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Top Garry William Tompkins
Garry, a self employed farmer, was working with cattle when he was attacked and gored to death by a bull at Brick Kiln Farm, Yoxford, Suffolk. The inquest was held at Lowestoft Coroner’s Court on 24 January 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Top Robert Sands
Robert, a transport manager for IAWS Fertilizer UK, died in an incident on Cliff Quay Docks. He was crushed between a reversing lorry and a fork-lift truck. The driver of the lorry said he had seen Robert smoking a cigarette by the office but he didn't spot him later, standing behind the HGV, as he reversed to leave the yard. Robert had been talking to the forklift driver who had loaded the lorry with bags of fertiliser. The inquest was held at Ipswich Coroner’s Court on 31 July 2002. The inquest jury was told there had been no separation between pedestrian and vehicle movements in the yard, and lorries usually moved off as soon as they were loaded. The driver denied he had been in any hurry. The court heard the fork lift driver had not noticed the lorry slowly reversing, and it did not have a warning siren fitted although its hazard lights were flashing. Coroner Dr Peter Dean said, 'The first thing he knew about it was Robert Sand's body being pressed against the side of his forklift truck. The lorry then moved off – he clearly became aware something had happened.' A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Health and Safety Executive inspector Daniel Curtin said the IAWS had been recommended to review safety in the yard, and had introduced several new measures including a radio link with forklift drivers.
Back to Top David Swift
David, an agency worker for Agency Drivers Register Ltd, was killed while driving for Northern Foods Transport Ltd delivering to Grampian Foods, Haverhill. He was crushed between his trailer and a brick wall. David was airlifted to hospital but died there the next day. The inquest was held at Suffolk West Coroner’s Court on 6 May 2003. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back to Top Lorraine Waspe
Lorraine, a despatch clerk at the British Sugar plant at Bury St Edmunds, was killed when struck by a mechanical shovel at the warehouse The inquest was held at Suffolk West Coroner’s Court on 9 October 2003 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. The driver of the vehicle told the inquest that he did not see Lorraine. Tickets issued to drivers as they arrived at the warehouse instructed them to stay in the their cabs. Frank Sykes, a Health and Safety Executive inspector who carried out an investigation after the accident, said, 'There had been blind corner where pedestrians and vehicles could not see each other. There were no safe pedestrian routes protected by barriers or markings on the floor and a warning sign about the shovel was very dirty and partly obscured.' My Sykes added, 'There were 350 lorries a day delivering beet to the site, 700 on a Friday and now 450 each day. It's a very busy transport operation. I am satisfied that steps have been taken to improve safety, the operation can be safer, the company knows that, but it takes time and it cannot all be done immediately.'
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Charles and his stepfather Brian, both welders with a marine engineering firm Small and Co, died from being overcome by fumes and a lack of oxygen after getting trapped while working on a disused, partly submerged petrol tank at Lake Lothing, Oulton Broad near Lowestoft. Brian first collapsed in the tank and Charles after making a 999 call climbed down into the tank to help him but himself was overcome. When they were found seven hours later Charles was beneath Brian and had probably been trying to lift him out. They were working inside one of four partly submerged tanks moored together off land owned by Associated British Ports (ABP) and across the water from dry docks belonging to their employer. Emergency services took seven hours to retrieve the men's bodies from the five metre by 15 metre tank because the search was hampered by water and slurry. The inquest held at Lowestoft Coroner’s Court on 17 February 2004 returned a verdict of 'Misadventure'. In May 2005 Small and Co Marine Engineering, admitted failing to ensure their safety and were fined £100,000. Tank owners Edmund Nuttall were also fined £25,000 at Ipswich Crown Court for breaching safety rules. The company had admitted failing to ensure the safety of people who were not its employees. Both firms were ordered to pay £29,500 costs between them. The court heard from the Health and Safety Executive that the way the work had been carried out was 'naïve'. The men had been sent to examine the tank to establish the best way of disposing of it. At some point Brian ended up inside the tank. Charles went into the tank to try to rescue him and both were overcome. The hearing was told there had been verbal warnings about the dangers of the work, but there had been no written assessment of the risks.
Back to Top Dennis Burman
Dennis, a trainee crane operator on a safety training and familiarisation exercise, fell 120 feet to his death at the Trinity Terminal, Felixstowe Port. Dennis who had previously worked for a design company had started this job just two weeks earlier. Dennis was one of six employees who started work for the docks on May 29, 2003. The employees started with a three-day general induction course before moving on to a 12-day Ship Work training course. On day 11 of their training the six men were taken up to a cab on top of a crane to sit with the driver. After a half an hour demonstration of how the cab worked Dennis and another trainee left the cab. The driver watched them walk to a point where two walkways met. He expected to see them a few moments later on the staircase leaving the crane and assumed they were on there. He moved the cab believing they were safely off. He then heard shouts from the walkway and looking from an observation unit he saw the victim falling from the crane. The inquest was held on 23 March 2004 at Ipswich Coroner’s Court and returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation led to charges under HSE legislation being brought in Ipswich Magistrates Court in July 2004. The magistrates decided however they did not have enough power to prosecute the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company (FDRC). The presiding magistrate Martin Smith declared a larger fine should be imposed than the £20,000 that was within their power. The case was heard at Ipswich Crown Court in September 2004. The FRDC was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay £27,000 costs. Judge John Holt told the company it had failed in its duty to ensure the safety of a new employee by not carrying out a proper risk assessment of the procedure of taking employees, particularly trainees, onto cranes. The court heard that the crane driver whom the trainees had sat with had been replaced. The replacement driver opened a gate between the moveable and stationary gangways as Dennis stepped through. The cab started to move and both men shouted at the driver to stop. Dennis was crushed between the barriers and fell to his death when one of the railings, which had buckled, sprang back violently. The court heard the crane driver, Mr Bowdler, had begun to move the cab as he believed the men were in a lift on their way down the crane. He accepted he had made an error of judgment in moving the crane without being certain of the men's exact position. 'It is quite clear this accident would not have happened if the crane driver had been instructed to always escort visitors off the crane or an interlocking device had been fitted to prevent movement of the crane,' Judge Holt said. 'This accident may not have happened if trainees had been instructed not to leave the train unless if accompanied by a driver. I am satisfied this accident was a clear consequence of a breach of duty of Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company. Their fault was not carrying out a proper risk assessment for visitors, and trainees in particular, to these cranes. If they had done, they would have realised there was a risk of a crane moving while visitors were on the platform and could have told crane drivers to escort all visitors off the platform. In my judgement it is clear the main cause of this accident was this fault.' Judge Holt said visits to cranes at the port similar to the one during which Dennis was killed had been conducted since 1998. 'Five years passed and no risk assessment was carried out. Five years is a long time to carry out a risk assessment,' he said. After the hearing, David Gregory of the HSE said the severity of the fine against Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company represented the seriousness of the offence. 'It is imperative employees and particularly trainees are adequately supervised and not exposed to risk,' he said. He added. 'The accident should not have occurred. It was totally preventable. Trainees, given their vulnerability and experience, need to be adequately supervised.' Following Dennis's death the Port of Felixstowe launched a safety improvement programme which has seen £1million committed to modifying cranes and improving safety. All cranes at the port are now fitted with interlocking systems, which do not allow walkways to separate while people are on them. The HSE said it was satisfied satisfactory safety measures were now in place at the port and added that the events surrounding Dennis's death had uncovered issues of national significance regarding the safety of employees around cranes.
Back to Top Anthony King
Anthony, a garage owner, died after falling more than 10ft through a skylight on to a concrete floor. Anthony was working on the roof of his garage with his son when the incident occurred. Father and son were working to repair fire damage at the premises. The skylight was blackened after the fire and looked like a solid roof section. The inquest was held at Suffolk West Coroner’s Court at Bury St Edmunds on 17 December 2003. The inquest was held without a jury and returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.
Back
to Table (2007) Lisa Page
Lisa was killed while driving a fork lift truck at Scriggins Surplus Electrical Engineering in Oulton Broad near Lowestoft when the truck fell on top of her. Lisa died from traumatic asphyxia caused by her chest being crushed and a broken spine. The inquest was held at Lowestoft Coroner’s Court sitting at Ipswich Crown Court on 17 and 18 December 2007. The jury returned a majority verdict of 'Accidental Death'. The jury heard that Lisa was a qualified forklift truck driver who was doing a couple of days' casual work with her mother's partner when she died. She had been working as a labourer at Norwich Sport Village, and had another contract there the following week when her mother's partner Peter Collins offered her some work at a scrapyard for the days in between to help her out. But as the two worked on moving an industrial food mixer using a forklift truck, the forklift tipped over, crushing driver Lisa to death. The incident happened at Scriggins Surplus on Harbour Road, Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft. The scrapyard, which was being wound down, was owned by Andrew Scriggins and his mother Christine, but most of the day-to-day running of the yard was handled by Mr Collins. John Felstead, an HSE inspector, said the forklift truck was 25 years old but 'fit for purpose', although it was not fitted with a seatbelt as it should have been. He said that although the mixing bowl's weight of 1,600kg was within the capacity of the forklift truck, in some positions it would have been overloaded. The fact that the bowl was attached by straps so it could swing from the prongs of the truck also made it more likely to tip over. The hearing was told that police passed a manslaughter file to the Crown Prosecution Service, who decided not to prosecute. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is still considering whether to press charges.
Carl Nunn
Carl was killed while repairing a fork lift truck at Waveney Fork Lifts in Lowestoft. The machine slipped from a jack and fell on top of him. The inquest was held at Ipswich Coroner’s Court on 16 August 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Back
to Table (2007) Brian Vince
Brian, a cargo handler at Ipswich Port, was killed when he was hit by a freight vehicle as he helped to load and unload a a roll-on, roll-off ferry which had arrived from Ostend, in Belgium. The inquest is to be held at Ipswich Coroner’s Court.
Robert Schmelter
Robert fell 10ft from a ladder while working at Anchor Storage, in Kenton, near Debenham. He was taken to Ipswich Hospital with severe head injuries where he died two days later. Robert was a subcontractor working for Ec02 B.V, a firm undertaking work at the site of the storage company. Mid Suffolk District Council has taken on the role of investigating what happened. The inquest is to be held at Ipswich Coroner’s Court.
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