Deaths in 2005

Click on the names below for further case details

Back to Top

FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS

Brian suffered fatal abdominal injuries at IP (Pontefract) Ltd (Infast Philidas), when a 700kg roll slipped from a forklift truck and toppled on to him.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court sitting in Leeds on 17 September 2007 when a 'Narrative' verdict was returned. The jury took less than an hour to come to a verdict which said the accident happened 'in a workplace which at that time did not appear to have clear and consistent operating practices'.

The court heard that factory worker Mark Walshaw was carrying the roll on a forklift. As he turned left into a corridor on the shop floor, he noticed Brian walking towards him. Mr Walshaw, who was a team leader on the site, shouted to Mr Wilson then began braking, though he did not sound his horn. The coil slid forward and fell off the forks. It stood on its end then toppled over on to Brian. He was rushed to Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield but died in the operating theatre that evening.

The court heard that at the time, Mr Walshaw did not have his forks tilted backwards.

Several forklift drivers gave evidence and said it was usual practice to tilt forks backwards to ensure the load did not slip. But the inquest was told that at that time at Infast, there was no set written procedure for loading the coils and drivers would complete the task in their own way.

James Corbridge, a specialist inspector with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) , visited the site two days after the accident. Using a toy forklift truck he demonstrated the benefits of using backward tilt to the jury. He said, 'If every one was doing it the same way that would have been one thing but we've heard people were doing it in different ways so that suggests to me a lack of control.'

Mr Corbridge carried out tests which showed emergency braking without forks tilted backward causes the coils to slip off. He said visibility at the junction Mr Walshaw turned on to was not good enough and that forklift drivers were not given refresher training specific to their work.

IP (Pontefract) Ltd was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,000 at Leeds Crown Court on 30 May 2008, after pleading guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, in relation to Brian's death.

HSE Inspector Geoff Fletcher said, 'This was a tragic and entirely avoidable incident, and a worker paid for that with his life. IP (Pontefract) failed to ensure that proper measures were taken to protect the worker and the consequences of that will affect his family forever.

'There should have been a system of work in place that adequately controlled the risks arising from vehicles moving around the site. Risk assessments had not been carried out and there was no system to adequately separate pedestrians and vehicles on the site. Training was inadequate and no refresher courses had been provided.'

Back to Table (2005)

Juliano (Ben) Parker

Juliano, known as Ben, had been driving along the M62 westbound, near junction 32 at Pontefract, when his front near-side wheel suddenly fell off. He managed to control the truck and safely park on the hard shoulder. Juliano then rang his haulage company employers in Leeds to report the accident before going to check on the runaway wheel.

As he stood over the super-heated tyre a huge build-up in pressure caused it to explode and fly towards him. The impact from the 167kg missile left Juliano with catastrophic head and chest injuries. The blast was so strong that the tyre continued to fly through the air and was eventually found 17 metres from his body.

A rescue team from the haulage firm arrived at the scene but could not find Juliano. He was eventually found down an embankment next to the grass verge but was pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court sitting in Wakefield on 1 February 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

The court heard that the entire wheel came loose after its internal bearings disintegrated and gradually collapsed. This caused massive heat and friction, which would have continued to pass to the tyre, which was described as 'red hot and glowing' as it lay on the verge.

The hearing was told the DAF 65 CF truck had received regular service and safety checks in line with the manufacturer's recommendations. Juliano's brother Fred, himself a former trucker, is angry that no explanation was found for why the wheel bearings failed. The court heard the failure could have been caused by the wrong type or insufficient lubricant, but as the mechanism disintegrated this could not be proved.

Back to Table (2005)

John Crossley

John was killed after becoming trapped under a machine which stacks wood onto pallets at Peter Ramsey and Sons timber yard in Wellington Street, Bradford. The plant is an automated production line which cuts and stacks timber for delivery.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court sitting in Bradford on 2 October 2006 when the jury returned an Open verdict.

John's colleagues told the hearing that the equipment had malfunctioned several times in the past but checks could find nothing wrong with it.

John was found trapped crouching down on the slats of wood with the stacking machine pushing down on his back.

Kevin Guy, a supervisor at the plant, told the inquest he had attempted to release the machine using its control panel, but it did not respond. Colleagues released John using a fork lift truck.

A post mortem examination revealed he had suffered asphyxia and fractured ribs.

Mr Guy said the machine should not have been able to operate while John was working on the stack of wood. He said the device was controlled by a 'magic eye' light beam which immediately shut the machine down if a worker walked through the light and into the area where the wood was being piled. He said, 'I don't know how it happened. I want an answer to that myself.'

Mr Guy said the equipment had malfunctioned on several occasions but he had never known it malfunction while someone was in the area where the wood was being stacked.
He said, 'It has done various different cycles which have been unexplained. It has malfunctioned on a couple of occasions where the arms have gone up instead of down.'

The coroner's court was told John had been working on the machine for five years and would enter the area where the wood was being stacked at least 40 times a day. Mr Guy said workers had to intervene manually if the wood was not being stacked properly.

Another colleague, David Lowe said John had become frustrated at the way the machine was stacking the wood on the morning before his death.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that the light beam was working correctly. The inquest was unable to to discover why the machine was working while John was in a dangerous area.

Dr Anthony Wray, an HSE control systems expert said that either John had reached over the beam to restart the machine on a control panel or one of his colleagues had restarted it while he was still in the stacking area. However the Coroner, Roger Whittaker, said there was no evidence to confirm either of these two scenarios. the inquest heard that new safety measures had been introduces by the machine's manufacturer as a result of the incident.

Solicitor Claire Newstead, representing the family, said, 'We are now giving serious consideration whether we want to take civil action. The firm's safety record is a cause for concern.'

Back to Table (2005)

John Angus

John, a verger, died after falling 60ft from a balcony of the north-west tower of York Minster.

The inquest was held at York Coroner's Court on 28 June 2005 when a verdict of Suicide was returned.

DC Richard Gray, a crime scene investigator with North Yorkshire Police, said he found no hazard on the balcony that would have caused John to trip.

John had joined the Minster staff in October 1980 as part of a team of vergers who help with the day-to-day running of the cathedral. He was originally a teacher, and had taught science at night classes in York.

Recording a verdict of suicide, Coroner Donald Coverdale said it was clear that John deliberately stepped off the tower and must have expected the 'inevitable consequence of dying from his injuries'. Mr Coverdale added, 'I have dismissed the possibility of this being an accident. There's no question of the stonework being slippery. He had no real reason to be at that height of the Minster.

Back to Table (2005)

Robert Sharples

Robert had been helping move a caravan weighing four-and-a-half tonnes when one wheel sank into soft ground. As it was being raised using jacks, it collapsed and pinned him to the ground. Robert suffered multiple crushing injuries to his chest and spine.

Any inquest would have been held at the North Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court.

The former owner of the Dales caravan park and his company were charged with manslaughter over Robert's death.

In November 2007 Windermere-based Lakeland Leisure Estates Ltd, and managing director Phillip Morgan were acquitted at Bradford Crown Court after the Honorary Recorder of Bradford, Judge Stephen Gullick, told the jury to return not guilty verdicts as the evidence did not amount to a gross breach of duty.

Both the company and Mr Morgan had denied manslaughter.

But Mr Morgan and the company were ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £47,500 after pleading guilty to breaches of Health and Safety regulations.

Prosecutor Andrew Dallas claimed the death was caused by the 'gross negligence' of the defendants. But on the 18th day of the trial Judge Gullick agreed with a submission by defence counsel Timothy Langdale QC there was insufficient evidence.

He said mistakes or errors of judgement, even very serious ones, were 'nowhere near enough for the crime of manslaughter to have been committed'.

'I cannot ignore the fact that Mr Sharples had been told in previous days not to go under caravans being jacked-up,' he said

Judge Gullick said the methods used to move the caravan were safe providing they were followed to the letter. He told Morgan, 'You were using tried and tested methods which, I am told, were and still are being used in the industry.'

But there were two 'departures' from those methods and that meant the defendants had failed to carry out obligations to ensure a safe working procedure was adhered to.

The judge said they were guilty of 'lengthy and considerable' failure to prepare formal risk assessment documents, despite twice being advised by council officials after minor incidents at another site in Pooley Bridge, Cumbria, in 2003 and 2004.

Judge Gullick said to Morgan, 'You were deficient in your operations but I accept it was not motivated by profit or a couldn't-care-less attitude. In general terms you were a good employer, took pride in your parks and were friendly towards your staff.'

Mr Langdale said Mr Morgan had sold the parks. 'Part of that decision was because he had lost enthusiasm for the work as a result of all this. There is nothing that sets Mr Morgan and Lakeland Leisure apart from other operators in terms of what they were doing that day,' he said.

After the accident, around £170,000 was spent on research, development and air bags and other equipment where needed at the firm's parks.

Back to Table (2005)

Stephen Wainwright

Stephen, a window cleaner, was working on a fifth-storey flat at Wells Court, Ilkley, when he applied pressure to the outside of a wooden rail which broke and he fell 50 ft to his death.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court sitting on 1 November 2006 when a Narrative verdict was returned which read: 'Stephen Ian Wainwright was a self-employed window cleaner. While cleaning windows at flat 15 at Wells Court he fell from its balcony after applying pressure to the outside of three wooden rails causing it to give way.'

The jury at the inquest in Bradford were told that it was most likely that Stephen had either been leaning on the rails from the inside of the balcony trying to clean the kitchen window that was out of reach, or was standing on the outside of the balcony holding on to the rail.

After the jury returned their narrative verdict Stephen's stepfather, Alistair McPherson, said the family were disappointed with the outcome. In a statement Mr McPherson said: "Stephen's mother and I are saddened and distressed by Stephen's death. We expected today's verdict to be accidental death. After hearing the evidence we are of the view that Stephen has died due to a faulty balcony rail on a fifth-floor privately-owned flat, after those flats had been refurbished. Stephen was a very conscientious and safe worker and someone should be accountable for his tragic death. We found it very frustrating at the lack of information we were given after Stephen died. We were constantly being told different versions of the events leading up to Stephen's death and we were never sure what the true circumstances were.'

The inquest was told that the screws holding the rail on to the balcony had barely penetrated the timber, but Julian Franklin, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, said that he was convinced Mr Wainwright would not have fallen if he had been working in a safe fashion.

He told Coroner Roger Whittaker, 'I think to impress that much force on a piece of timber about which you have no knowledge would be a very unwise thing to do. To cause that piece of timber to move or break I think would involve leaning over or leaning out more than would be wise.'

The court heard that builders working on the flats in the weeks before Stephen fell had checked a number of the balcony rails, some of which had then been replaced.

Mr Franklin said that if this rail had been in a poor condition then it might not have taken much force to prise it away.

The inquest heard evidence from the owner of the flat, Jean Kirby, who told the coroner that she had asked Stephen not to clean the kitchen window.

Mr Whittaker said that after hearing the evidence he did not feel it necessary to write to any authorities to try to prevent similar fatalities.

Back to Table (2005)

Terry Patrick

Terry was working as a contractor on a sand and gravel crusher at Allerton Park Quarry when he was hit and trapped by a metal bar. He was part of a team employed by B L Pegson, specialists in rock crushing machinery. The quarry is operated by Hanson.

The inquest was held at the North Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court on 4 May 2006 when a verdict of death by 'Misadventure' was returned.

Back to Table (2005)

Frank Smith

Frank, a council worker, was injured when the sit-on mower he was operating overturned, trapping him underneath, while he was cutting a steep grass embankment at Water End, near Clifton Bridge. He died of a crush injury to his chest at the scene.

The inquest was held at York Coroner's Court on 4 October 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

Speaking after the hearing, Keith King, a principal inspector at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said the agency was still considering whether to prosecute the council.

In May 2006 it was announced that council engineers had been carrying out trials on a remote-controlled lawnmower, to cut the grass on the slopes of the mounds around the city's ancient monuments. City of York Council representatives said the mower, which is controlled at ground level, was part of the authority's commitment to improving health and safety for employees, while also improving services.

In April 2008 at York Crown Court City of York Council were fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,423 after being found guilty of a breach of Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The court found that the slope of the bank and the suitability of the mowing machine that the worker was using had not been risk assessed. Additionally the mower had no roll-over protection and the slope of the bank was outside the range specified by the machine's manufacturers.

The court heard Frank was sent to Water End without supervision, the mower did not have safety equipment installed and the work on the 25-degree slope was against safety instructions drawn up by the vehicle's manufacturers, leading Recorder James Hill QC to say, 'The death of Mr Smith was, in my judgement, entirely avoidable.'

Frank's brother, David, said he hoped his brother's death would help ensure no other families suffered similar heartbreak. 'It does make me angry and bitter about the duty of care put in place,' he said. 'I would have liked the fine to be a bit higher, but in reality that was the most that could be expected and we're glad it has been brought to a conclusion.

'The questions we had have been answered, although I still think somebody in a managerial position at the council should have been sacked because they clearly didn't do their job properly. But we want to thank the HSE for all the work they have done and we fully support everything they have tried to do to ensure this doesn't happen again. We just hope lessons have been learned for the future.'

HSE Principal Inspector Keith King said, 'This was a tragic and entirely avoidable accident. The absence of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and clear guidance for employees lead to a ride on mower being used on wet grass on an unsafe slope. These errors were compounded by the fact that the machine did not have roll over protection and a seat belt to protect the driver in the event of it rolling over. That is exactly what happened in this case and all of these factors contributed to the Council worker's tragic death. The penalty imposed by the court today reflects the seriousness of these failings and of this offence.'

Back to Table (2005)

Robert, a farm worker, died after opening a gate near where his friend was reversing a tractor attached to a trailer. While the tractor was reversing the trailer somehow became detached. It rolled down the pathway and trapped Robert between the gate and an adjacent building causing Robert severe neck injuries.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court on 19 September when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

Back to Table (2005)

Ian Millward

Ian, a retired farmer, was helping out at Scalby Lodge Farm near Scarborough, when he became trapped against a wall by a tractor and trailer.

The inquest was held at the North Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court on 30 January 2006 when a verdict of 'Misadventure' was returned.

Back to Table (2005)

Michael Robson

Michael, a steeplejack, fell 60 feet to his death while working inside a 400 foot tower at Eggborough Power Station near Selby. Michael was installing equipment designed to cut discharges of the pollutant sulphur dioxide by 90 per cent to comply with new environmental standards.

The inquest was held at the North Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court on 4 May 2006 when a verdict of 'Misadventure' ws returned.

Michael was the second Teesside steeplejack to die at Eggborough in the previous three years. In July 2002 David Jamieson (click on Yorkshire 2002 for details) was working on the main chimney at Eggborough when he fell. He suffered a broken neck and chest injuries and died instantly. A third worker, Andrew Bason (click on Yorkshire 2003 for details), a joiner died in a fall in July 2003.

Back to Table (2005)

Andrew Bridges

Andrew, known as Andy, was standing on a scaffold, while working on a roof on a construction site near Batley, when a concrete slab fell on top of him. Andy and his employer Barry Ellis were working to demolish a 2.5 tonne reinforced concrete roof at the back of an old electrical store on the corner of Bradford Road and Eyre Street

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court on 22 and 23 March 2007 when a verdict of death by 'Misadventure' was returned.

The narrative accompanying the verdict said, ' ... Andrew Bridges slipped coming down scaffolding when a concrete slab crushed him during the course of wok on the site.'

Andrew's father also was working on the site at the time of the incident and had given a warning of the dangerous nature of the work his son was asked to undertake. He told the Coroner, 'I thought that something could go wrong. Probably most people think like that when someone's on a roof with a pick hammer and part of the roof had been taken away previously. I just thought something could go wrong.'

In January 2008 Norman Barry Ellis, director of Q Homes (Yorkshire) Ltd, pleaded guilty in Dewsbury Magistrates' Court to failing to ensure the health and safety of company employee Andrew Michael Bridges.

The court ordered him to undertake 100 hours community service and to pay £6000 costs.

HSE Inspector Sarah Hague, who investigated the case, said, 'This was a tragic incident, made worse by the fact that it could have easily been prevented had the work been properly planned. When embarking on any project such as this, which involves structural alteration and demolition work, it is a basic requirement for work to be carefully planned and risks assessed. The court was of the opinion that, in this case, a fine would not have reflected the seriousness of the offence. The way in which the work was carried out, which resulted in Mr Bridges' death, represented very serious failings on the part of Mr Ellis who had planned and was also carrying out the work.'

Ellis was found guilty under sections 2 and section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Back to Table (2005)

Patrick Sherry

Patrick was performing with his band Bad Beat Revue at the Warehouse in Leeds when he fell and hit the dance floor head first on 20 July. He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary but died the following day.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court in November 2005 and returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

The court heard Patrick jumped from the stage to grab a lighting gantry during his band's last song but lost his grip and fell. He had been playing as part of the regular Club NME night at the Somers Street venue. His head injuries were described by the coroner as unsurvivable.

Back to Table (2005)

Paula Eldred

Paula, yard manager for Tony Cook Ltd, an agricultural plant and machinery hire firm, died after becoming trapped under the wheels of a forklift truck. Paula turned the key to use the vehicle as a noise source to demonstrate ear defenders to a customer. The vehicle had been driven that morning by the managing director and left in gear, with the keys in the ignition.

An investigation by Neil Huntley, EHO, found that the forklift had a defective handbrake and had not been effectively maintained. Staff had been inadequately trained in its safe use and risk assessments had not been completed.

The inquest was held at the East Riding and Hull Coroner's Court on 17 January 2006 when the jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

In September 2006 at Hull Crown Court, Tony Cook Ltd was fined £42,000 for serious health and safety breaches. The company’s managing director, Antony Denis Cook, was separately fined £10,000 under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Costs of £8,075 were awarded to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council who brought the prosecution.

Paul Mears, the council’s health, safety and licensing manager commented:, 'Forklift trucks are potentially lethal pieces of equipment. This tragic accident was completely avoidable had the company and management followed established basic safety rules. Inspectors from the council will continue to focus on similar small businesses with a poor safety record and those not maintaining equipment or allowing staff to operate trucks without appropriate training.'

Back to Table (2005)

Neil Millar

Neil, a lead service engineer for Baker Hughes Fluids, a sub-contractor working for Edeco Petroleum Services, died after being crushed by a drilling rig while working at a gas storage facility near Hull. He had been involved in a pipe-laying project in the village of Aldbrough at a site owned by Scottish and Southern Energy.

Neil was found dead beneath a piece of specialist lifting equipment that was used for lifting metal tubular casing up to the rig floor before being placed down a deep borehole. A lifting arm, powered by a large hydraulic ram, descended and trapped Neil's neck against a fixed horizontal steel beam that supported the lifting equipment above the ground. Neil died as a result of asphyxiation.

The inquest was held at the East Riding and Hull Coroner's Court on 30 June 2006 when a Narrative verdict was returned: 'Mr Millar died as result of a tragic accident'.

In April 2008 at Hull Crown Court, Edeco Petroleum Services Ltd of Trent Lane, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to breaches of Section3 (1) and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in connection with Neil's death and was fined a total of £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £47,400.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector John Rowe said, 'This was an horrific incident which resulted from the company's failure to guard the machine and prevent the worker from getting into a position where he was in danger. Employers have a duty to ensure that workplace machinery is safely guarded and that their employees do not have access to exposed and dangerous moving parts.

'The piece of machinery involved in the incident had been imported from Canada, and it had not been checked to ensure that it was safely guarded. If this had been done, then this tragic loss of life could have been avoided.

'There had been a number of safety incidents of a less serious nature involving Edeco Petroleum Services which indicated, that at times, standards of health and safety management fell well below what was required.'

Back to Table (2005)

Michael Fielden

Michael, a farm worker, was killed when his all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a quad bike, overturned on a Yorkshire Dales farm while he rounded up cows.

The inquest was held at the North Yorkshire Western District Coroner's Court on 24 July 2006 when a verdict of death by 'Misadventure' was returned.

In November 2006 Colin and Sharon Moorhouse of Long Bank Farm at Halton West, near Skipton, were fined £12,000 and £1,000 respectively and ordered to pay full costs of £12,260 for failing to ensure the safety at work of their employee Michael.

In the hearing at Skipton Magistrates' Court, both defendants pleaded guilty to charges brought by the HSE under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc (HSW) Act 1974*.

HSE Inspector Morag Irwin said, 'Sadly this is not an isolated incident. In the ten year period between May 1996 and March 2006 23 people were killed across the country in accidents at work on quad bikes. Of these 17 involved head injuries where no head protection was worn.

'If you don't wear a helmet you greatly increase the risk of serious injury, as this tragic case has shown. There are new designs of lightweight, ventilated helmets now available which are cut away at the ears so that you can still have a conversation and hear extraneous noises like phones and animals. These can be bought for as little as £25 - not a great expense for something that may well save your life.

'Everyone thinks that it won't happen to them. But no-one is invulnerable and many quad bike accidents have happened to older, experienced farm workers. There are things you can do to manage the risk - always wear a helmet, maintain the vehicle properly, and consider getting some proper training in how to handle the quad bike.'

*Section 2(1) of the HSW Act states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees". The maximum fine in a Magistrates' Court for charges under Section 2(1) of the HSW Act is £20,000.

Back to Table (2005)

John Cavill

John was crushed to death by a falling gate at the South Yorkshire haulage yard he was guarding. John's body lay undiscovered all night after he died instantly when the sliding gate, weighing about a ton, fell off its runners as he closed it.

The inquest was held at the South Yorkshire East Coroner's Court 7 December 2006 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

The hearing was told that safety bolts which would have prevented the gate falling had not been fitted.

In September 2007 SDS Security Ltd, of Primrose Park, Greasbrough Road, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to a breach of Health and Safety Act legislation by failing to ensure the welfare of an employee and was fined £2,500.

Doncaster magistrates also ordered company director Gary Haigh to pay more than £4,700 prosecution costs.

Chris Smith, prosecuting, for Doncaster Council, said Mr Cavill was working alone as night security man at the yard of E Pawson and Son Ltd in Ashton Lane, Braithwell. The gate to the staff car park was normally automatic but the electronic controls were sometimes affected by the weather and on the night of John’s death had to be closed manually.

SDS operated a system where a computer carried out mobile phone hourly checks if staff were working alone, but John had not been included.

'Their failure amounts to an improper risk assessment of his situation,' said Mr Smith.

In December 2007 at Doncaster Crown Court a fine of £20,000 was imposed on E Pawson and Son Ltd, the haulage firm John was guarding, for breach of safety regulations in relation to his death.

The company was also ordered to pay £5,717 costs by the judge.

Insurers for E Pawson and Son Ltd were also expected to make a substantial compensation payout to John's widow.

Back to Table (2005)

Alan Squirrel

Alan, a roofer, died after falling while working at Halifax Estate Agents in Rothwell.

The inquest was held at the West Yorkshire Eastern District Coroner's Court on 20 September 2007 when the jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

Back to Table (2005)