Deaths in 2004

Deaths in 2005

Deaths in 2006

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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FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS

Sandra Bell

Sandra Bell, a personal assistant to the headteacher, fell at Gartree School, Tattershall, breaking her ankle. She developed an embolism.

The inquest was held at Boston and Spalding Coroner’s Court and returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

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Graham Dann

Graham Dann fell in a corn dryer while trying to empty it, at Bowsers Farm, West Fen, Stickney.

The inquest was held at Boston and Spalding Coroner’s Court and returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

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Jason Squire

Jason, a track maintenance worker, was fatally injured when when he was crushed between a speeding digger and a track machine at Ancaster Station.

British Transport Police and the HSE launched an investigation amidst calls from the RMT union for a public enquiry into the safety regime of the fragmented privatised rail industry.

The inquest was held at Lincolnshire West Coroner’s Court from 10 to 21 October 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

The jury at the Coroner's Court heard that Jason had been replacing sleepers on the line as part of a £5 million upgrade programme of the link between Grantham and Skegness. He and his crew had been working through the night to minimise disruption on the line and the job was lit by large arc lamps when the accident happened, at 7.45pm.

Jason was working for engineering company Mowlem, which had been subcontracted by Network Rail to carry out the maintenance of the track.

Coroner Roger Atkinson told the jury that Jason appeared to have been behind a large yellow machine called an LFT, which is used to pack in the new sleepers. He was either standing behind it or getting something from the back of it.

'A digger behind on the track appears to have run into the back of the LFT machine, catching Mr Squire between the two,' said Mr Atkinson.

Pathologist Professor Guy Rutty, who performed the post-mortem examination, said, 'There were serious crush injuries to the chest and the abdomen, either of which could have proved fatal. The ninth rib was broken on the right side of the body and that had punctured the lung. In the abdominal cavity I found that the liver had sustained a substantial crush injury and there was almost a pint of blood. Both injuries were consistent with a severe localised compression to the right hand side of the body, which is consistent with the scenario presented of him being trapped between two vehicles.

'In my opinion his injuries were so severe that regardless of the treatment he received I would have expected him to die.'

A sharp implement had penetrated Jason's right thigh, coming out the other side. Fragments of yellow paint had been found inside the injury.

After the verdict Jason's family said they would take civil action against Mowlem. They believed the firm which in 2004 had a turnover of £2 billion should explain why safety rules were broken before the fatal smash.

Jason and a colleague were offered a lift back to the station at the end of their shift on the LFT machine. The machine should only carry one person, but up to six people were riding it that night.

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Richard Reineman

Richard was a contractor, working at the port in Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire. He fell 30 feet in a grain store, while carrying out maintenance work.

The inquest was to be held at Boston and Spalding Coroner’s Court.

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Timothy Stenlake

Timothy was killed while cutting wood with a circular saw at an industrial workshop behind his house in Pinchbeck.

The inquest was held at Boston and Spalding Coroner’s Court and returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

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Derek Walker

Derek was a window fitter. He died a day fafter a fall while working on a conservatory.

The inquest was held at North Lincolnshire and Grimsby Coroner’s Court on 2 December 2004. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Lee Evans

Lee Evans was working at Bell and Webster Concrete, Alma Park Road, Grantham. He was moving a heavy object along an overhead gantry when it collapsed. He died after a concrete block fell on his head.

The inquest was held at Grantham Coroner’s Court on 8 December 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned .

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Colin Blades

Colin was killed while on a night shift at DS Smith Packaging Ltd in Northfields in Louth. He had reached inside a press to free a blockage when he inadvertently started it up again. He was dragged into the machine and was crushed to death.

The inquest was held at Louth Coroner’s Court in July 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

DS Smith Packaging Ltd was fined £75,000 at Lincoln Crown Court in February 2006 after admitting breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure Colin's safety. The company was also ordered to pay £13,300 in costs.

David Travers, prosecuting, said the danger - caused by the fitting of a smaller conveyor belt - should have been clear and foreseeable to the firm. He added that Colin was considered a careful worker who did not take risks.

Judge Jeremy Lea said he accepted the firm had not taken a risk to increase its profits, but there had been a failure to foresee that the lack of safety on the machine might result in 'catastrophic injury or death'.

After the hearing Simon Jones, of the Health and Safety Executive, said a metal plate costing just £100 would have prevented the accident.

After the hearing Colin's father criticised the firm, saying, 'Health and safety laws are in place to be followed for a reason. We hope this disaster never happens again. We don't want another family to go through what we have gone through and are still going through.'

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Peter Hastings

Peter was lifting steel with a crane when it fell and crushed him while working at TG Pine Crane Hire.

The inquest was held at Boston and Spalding Coroner’s Court. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Richard Cox

Richard, a sprayer and finisher, fell 15ft in a fatal fall as he did one last job at the end of his shift. He was moving light fittings in a metal 'basket' atop a forklift truck when he fell and the basket landed on top of him. Richard died the next day.

The inquest was held at North Lincolnshire and Grimsby Coroner’s Court, at Cleethorpes Town Hall, on 12 January 2006. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

The inquest heard that neither Richard nor the driver of the forklift were authorised to drive it. It had however become common practice for people without formal training to operate them.

Managing director of Auto-Trail, Robert Gee, said there were suitable 'cages' with harnesses available at the company's headquarters at Grimsby Europarc.

Since the incident only people with forklift licences and supervisors were given keys to the trucks.

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Vic Bee and Roy Wilkinson

Vic and Roy Wilkinson, both electricity engineers from the Boston area who were carrying out routine maintenance work at an electricity sub-station near Helpringham Fen, died when their van was struck by a train.

The accident involved a single-carriage Central Trains 153 diesel. The train driver and guard were taken to hospital suffering from shock. The incident was just a few miles from the scene of a similar collision a month earlier when a train full of schoolchildren hit level crossing barriers at Rowston.

The train had left Peterborough at 1241GMT and collided with the van 45 minutes later on what is known as a user-worked crossing. Network Rail said there are 3,967 user-worked crossings, which are usually on private land in rural areas and do not have automatic gates.

The inquest was held at Lincolnshire West Coroner’s Court sitting at Sleaford Magistrates' Court on 16 December 2006. The jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

The Coroner Roger Atkinson criticised the safety procedures of Central Networks and Network Rail and put a number of safety recommendations to them.

A clear view down the track was possible from about five metres back from the crossing but that required stopping on the slope and effectively performing a hill start before crossing. Wheel spin occurred and was possible on the crossing itself which is made up of railway sleepers and a ballast section between the two lines.

Mr Atkinson said the the men may have taken a run at the one-in-seven slope and not stopped to look for a train as one had passed minute before they died. Or thy may have seen the train when they were on the track, panicked and accelerated, causing wheel spin and stalling.

The court heard that Network Rail had tried to close the crossing in 2000 due to safety fears but this was not possible and recommendations for phones to be fitted were made. These were not installed until after the men's deaths.

It also emerged that Central Networks failed to give any of their engineers specific railway safety advice and failed to cary out a risk assessment for reaching the sub-station.

Mr Atkinson recommended that Network Rail cut back vegetation to improve visibility and filled the ballast section of the crossing with non-slip sleepers.

He would ask Central Networks to instruct their employees to phone signalmen before crossing tracks at all times and if there were two people in a vehicle for the passenger to get out to check if any trains were coming and to guide the driver over the track.

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Tom, a jockey from Eldwick, West Yorkshire, died from multiple injuries after falling from Rush 'n' Run in the final hurdle race of the day. He was an experienced rider and had won three hurdle races and one National Hunt Flat race in 51 rides.

The inquest was held at Spilsby Coroner’s Court on 18 August 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Coroner Stuart Fisher said, 'It's a great tragedy that such a young man should lose his life in this way. He was an up and coming rider and very highly thought of.'

In a statement, the horse's trainer Sue Smith described the fall as the field approached the third from last hurdle. Rush 'n' Run was nudged by another horse and veered to the left, she said. 'The jockey was seen to pull the horse back on track, but there was an imbalance,' the trainer added. Tom held on to the rein as he fell, pulling Rush 'n' Run down. It rolled on top of him as he hit the ground.

Mrs Smith said, 'The trainer, Jockey Club and family are satisfied this was a tragic, freak racing accident.'

The Jockey Club's chief medical advisor Dr Michael Turner, said, 'Racing is an exciting sport with a high risk of injury. Although fatal injuries are relatively uncommon, the incidence per days of participation is strikingly high when compared with other sports.'

Dr Turner's figures showed five deaths in jump racing between 1975 to 2000 with a fatality rate of 646 per 100 million rides. There were 793 per 100 million climbs in mountaineering, 146 in motor sports, 44 in sailing, 34 in horse riding and three in football and cricket.

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Nigel died following a 4 metre fall from a trailer which had just been loaded at Calders and Grandidge Ltd in Spalding.

He fell while making adjustments to the load of metal poles. Nigel had not been trained in handling the poles nor was there a risk assessment which would have considered the effect of a change in the product from wood to metal.

The inquest was held at Boston and Spalding Coroner’s Court on 31 July 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Oleksiy, a Ukrainian seaman working at Immingham Docks, was killed by a Tugmaster (a type of tractor vehicle) which skidded while pulling container off the ship MV Humber Way.

The inquest was to be held at North Lincolnshire and Grimsby Coroner’s Court.

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Paul was crushed to death when more than a tonne of marble sheeting fell on top of him at a Long Sutton masonry firm. Paul was found by a colleague. He was unconscious and trapped between several sheets of marble. A post mortem showed he died of asphyxiation.

The inquest was held at Boston and Spalding Coroner’s Court on 31 July 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

Dr Ian Ellison, of the Health and Safety Executive, said there were around 70 marble slabs on angled racking and Paul was trying to separate some to remove with a crane. It is believed he pulled the sheets, which weigh around 200kg each, towards his body so that he could put a wedge behind them and then a sling to move them with a crane.

Colleague Michael Futter noticed Paul's office light on when he knew he was only due to work half a day. He returned around an hour later when the light was still on and found Paul.
He said, 'Paul was wedged between the block of marble that was on him and up against a batch that had been there for a number of weeks. He was unconscious.'

Company managing director Colin Parker was next on the scene, followed by other employees who lifted the sheets and tried to resuscitate Paul.

Dr Ellison said there would have been enough room for Paul to put an A-frame between the sheets he was moving and the ones he was leaving, which would have taken their weight if they did fall. He added that on the day of his death Paul had been going to take his son Jake to plant a tree in memory of his former partner who was killed in a car crash a year previously.

Dr Ellison added, 'People commented that Paul was a lot more thoughtful on that day and possibly withdrawn, although he appeared to be working normally.'

The inquest heard risk assessments had been carried out and training given to staff, although this did not relate specifically to the manual moving of marble slabs. Several workers who gave evidence all said that Paul was conscientious and would not do anything that was unsafe.

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Deaths of Philip Wooley, Orlando Lourenco, Endre Csillag, Bela Csende, Attila Kozma and Ferenc Szobacsi

Portuguese driver Orlando Manuel Dos Santos Lourenco and four passengers (originally from Hungary), Endre Csillag, Bela Csende, Attila Kozma, and Ferenc Szobacsi died in the collision on the A52 near Grantham. Philip Wooley, a lorry driver, died when he was hit by the minibus as Orlando Lourenco carried out what was described at the subsequent inquest as an 'unbelievable overtaking manoeuvre'.

The inquest was held at the Lincolnshire West Coroner's Court in Lincoln's Cathedral Centre on 20 December 2006. Recording his verdict the Coroner Mr Atkinson said, 'I find that Mr Lourenco died as a result of an accident. As far as the remainder of the deceased are concerned, I find that they were unlawfully killed.

'They died as a result of gross negligence sufficient to warrant a criminal penalty of considerable severity, such as imprisonment. Under the coroner's rules I am not able to name who is responsible for those unlawful killings.'

The inquest heard earlier that Orlando Lourenco had attempted to overtake a truck on the country road before colliding head-on with the Hovis lorry, driven by Philip Wooley. Two workers - one Hungarian and one Portuguese - survived the crash.

Orlando Lourenco held an expired Portuguese driving licence at the time of the crash. He was also working long days without the 11 hours break between driving jobs required by law. Recruitment agency Interstaff had also failed to carry out a proper risk assessment or a medical examination for him, the inquest was told.

They were being driven from their homes at Cambridge Street, Grantham, to work in Clipstone, Nottinghamshire, at about 0500 GMT, when the minibus hit the lorry.

Post-mortem examinations revealed that all six men died from multiple injuries.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said the matter would now be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service who would determine whether a full criminal investigation into the crash should be carried out.

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