Deaths in 2001

Deaths in 2002

Deaths in 2003

Deaths in 2004

Deaths in 2005

Deaths in 2001

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Deaths in 2002

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Deaths in 2003

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Deaths in 2005

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FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS

Dean Storey

Dean, a maintainance fitter, died while he was working at an electrical sub-station and was electrocuted

The inquest was held at East Berkshire Coroner's Court on 13 September 2001. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Robert Maidment

Robert, a farm worker, died on 30 May 2001 when he was impaled on a prong of a forklift truck at Winterbourne Farm.

The inquest took place in June 2001 at West Berkshire Coroner’s Court. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.


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David Wheeler

David, a goods driver, died when he was crushed between a dump truck and his own lorry while off loading extractors from cement mixer.

The inquest took place in 25 March 2002 at West Berkshire Coroner’s Court. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.


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Joan Walters
Eileen Risebro
Annie Robinson
Alexander Brown

Joan, Annie, Eileen and Alexander and two others, all pensioners residing at the Lady Astor Court Nursing Home in Slough, Berkshire, mistook dishwasher rinse bleach for blackcurrant cordial and drank it. The six were taken to Wexham Park Hospital after the incident.

Between 3 December and 2 January 2002 Joan, Annie, Eileen and Alexander died .

The Health and Safety Executive and police carried out a joint investigation.

An inquest was set first for May, then for November 2002, but was subsequently postponed. The inquest was finally held in November 2003 and returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death' in respect of Joan, Eileen and Annie, and a verdict of natural causes in the case of Alexander.

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Michael Hawkins

Michael was following a dustcart which ran over him.

There was no inquest, the incident being treated as a road traffic accident.


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Ravindra Warnakulasuriya

Ravindra, a bakery worker, died from injuries sustained when he and another worker were crushed under a giant dough mixing machine.

The inquest took place at East Berkshire Coroner's Court on the 4th to the 6th of June 2003 when an Open Verdict was returned.

In July 2004 Montana Bakery Limited was £ 25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £30,000 at Reading Crown Court for breaches of health and safety legislation.

The prosecution followed a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident in which Ravindra was killed and the works engineer Leroy Moore sustained severe head injuries.

The men were using a fork-lift truck to raise a two tonne dough mixing machine in order to gain access to the drive belt underneath which had failed jamming the machine. While they were working underneath the machine, the fork-lift overbalanced and caused the machine to fall. The weight being lifted exceeded the maximum load recommended for the fork-lift truck and the machine had not been secured by any other means.

Dennis MacWilliam, HM Inspector of Safety and Health, said, 'This was a tragic incident, which not only took the life of a 41 year old married man with children, and severely injured another, but which was also entirely avoidable if basic safety steps had been taken at an earlier stage. There was failure by those involved to adequately assess the task and identify hazards. The weight and size of the machine were far too big for the fork lift being used to lift it. The HSE will not tolerate employers exposing their employees to unacceptable risks at work. The HSE has always been available to give advice in relation to health and safety at work. There is simply no excuse for employers to plead ignorance of good health and safety practice.'

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Sebastian Skorupski and Adam Borowik

Adam and Sebastian, two Polish fruit pickers were crushed to death after falling into a twine-winding machine on a strawberry field at Sheeplands Farm which bordered the A4 New Bath Road. It is believed that one worker fell into the machine and his friend died after being dragged into the tractor-driven machine while trying to pull his friend out.

The inquest was held at East Berkshire Coroner's Court on 28 September to 30 September 2003. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

In July 2005 at Reading Crown Court the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) successfully prosecuted the Hall Hunter Partnership (Farming) Ltd, owner Harry Hall, aged 34, his 62-year-old father and fellow director Mark, and Aventis Services Ltd, which was contracted to build and dismantle the polytunnels used mainly in the cultivation of strawberries and raspberries.

The court had been told that Adam was decapitated and his arms and spinal cord severed, and when Sebastian's body was found his legs were missing.

The Halls and their company, and Aventis Services, all admitted one breach each of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act and the 1999 Management of Health and Safety Regulations.

Between them the Halls and their company were fined a total of £60,000 with £46,548.75 costs, and Aventis was ordered to pay a £20,000 fine and costs of £15,516.25.

Passing sentence, Judge Jonathan Playford QC, said, 'In relation to Hall Hunter Partner-ship, no adequate risk assessment had been carried out. It was particular to the partnership to address this problem because they had 300 workers, many of whom were students and many from abroad who may not have had full understanding of safe working practices. With respect to Aventis, I accept that this accident was born out of ignorance, not putting profit before safety. Also, in relation to the partnership, I accept there was no question of them putting profit before safety.'

Speaking later, HSE Inspector Matthew Lee said, 'In terms of injuries, it is the worst I have seen in 30 years as an inspector.'

He added, 'The farming industry has one of the highest accident rates in the country. Farmers must ensure they take in to account how machines should be operated when deciding safe working practices, especially where young and inexperienced workers are involved.'

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Jeremy Pullen

Jeremy, a builder employed by J & H Roofing, Cottenham, died when he fell off the scaffold 30ft to the ground at Queensmere Shopping Centre, Slough when he was working on the roof. He was stretching across a four foot gap trying to unblock a rubble chute when he fell screaming to the ground as he had not been using a harness at the time. He had apparently ignored his own advice he had given to others during a health and safety induction

The inquest took place at East Berkshire Coroner's Court on the 11th and 12th of September 2003. A verdict of Death by Misadventure was returned.

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Alan Serpant

Alan died when he fell from the roof while working on a ventilation system.

The inquest took place at East Berkshire Coroner's Court on 5 February 2004 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

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Brian Drysdale
Stanley Martin
Anjenette Rossi
Louella Main
Emily Webster
Barry Strevens
Leslie Charles Matthews

Seven people were killed when a First Great Western train hit a car driven by Brian Drysdale at a level crossing near Ufton Nervet in Berkshire and derailed. Stanley Martin, the train driver and five passengers as well as Brian died. Another 71 were hurt requiring hospital treatment, about 10 with serious injuries. Work to clear and rebuild the track took several days.

The incident occurred when Brian's car drove onto the tracks when the barriers of the crossing were up, but they subsequently closed with the vehicle still on the track.

The inquest was to take place at Berkshire Coroner's Court, sitting at the Guildhall Windsor, in October 2005 but was subsequently postponed over a row as to whether the victims' families should receive legal aid.

The families of those killed were intending to make the case for extra safety measures to be introduced on trains at the inquest. They had requested legal aid to pay for barristers on the grounds the case had a 'wider public interest'. But the legal aid minister, Bridget Prentice, has refused an application from David Main, whose partner, Anjanette Rossi, and nine-year-old daughter Louella were among those killed in the crash.

Other families expect to have their request turned down as well. Lawyers for David Main are planning to apply for a judicial review.

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