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Deaths in 2001
Deaths in 2001
Back to Top Deaths in 2002
Click on the names below for further case details
Click on the names below for further case details
FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS Sidney Cooper
Sidney, a self employed builder, died after falling 20 ft through the roof of a barn he was repairing. The inquest was held at Bournemouth, Poole and Eastern Dorset Coroner’s Court on 17 July 2001. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
David Collin Morley
David, a self-employed farm worker, was crushed against the wall of his farm by a car. The inquest was held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s Court on 30 August 2001. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Lionel Arthur Sauter
Lionel, a self-employed semi-retired builder, died when he fell backwards off a ladder and injured his head. The inquest was held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s Court on 24 October 2001. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Brian Smith
Brian, a partner in a haulage company, died of multiple injuries when a container he was lifting fell on him. The inquest was held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s Court on 13 August 2002. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. On 8 November 2002 the owner of the haulage firm was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay over £7,000 costs for breaches of health and safety legislation.
Kenneth Roberts
Kenneth, a self employed builder, died after falling from an unfooted ladder at a Ferndown building site. Neil was rushed to Poole Hospital and then transferred to the neurological unit at Southampton. He died two days later. The inquest was held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s Court on 17 July 2002. District coroner Sheriff Payne heard that Kenneth had been discussing work with contracts director Phillip Rook just minutes before the fall. Mr Rook, who was responsible for health and safety at the site, denied witnessing the fall but Kenneth's colleague, Neil Herbert, claimed that Mr Rook must have seen it happen.The Bournemouth inquest heard that health and safety regulations demand that ladders are 'footed' by another person standing on the ground. They should also be tied. There was also evidence, from the Health and Safety Executive that the ladder, owned by Kenneth, had, at some time before the accident, lost its safety feet, which might have prevented it sliding across a concrete floor. Neil Herbert told Mr Payne he believed Mr Rook saw the fall. 'To watch somebody go up a ladder without anybody holding it is not good. There should be somebody holding it so accidents like this don't happen.' He added, 'Mr Rook said he wasn't there but he was. Why would somebody say that?' Mr Rook told the inquest, 'I left Ken to carry on and I stood outside the unit. I heard a crash and then I returned to the unit.' The inquest heard that Kenneth and Neil Herbert had been sub-contracted to carry out roofing work at the site in Nimrod Way by Poole-based Stansmore Builders for whom Mr Rook was employed. Mr Payne told jurors that the lack of safety feet on the bottom of the ladder was the most likely explanation for the ladder slipping across the concrete floor. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.
Rodney Skidmore
Rodney, a pilot, died along with his co-pilot were killed when the Lynx helicopter they were flying came down in the Atlantic Ocean. A Royal Navy photographer on board, Petty Officer Paul Hanson, survived the crash. The inquest was held at Western Dorset Coroner’s Court in June 2003. A verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. The inquest was dedicated solely to Rodney's death as the body of co-pilot Lieutenant Jenny Lewis was never recovered. Paul Hanson told the inquest of his escape from the helicopter. 'I would like to pay tribute to Rodney and Jenny for keeping the aircraft in the air for as long as they did and enabled me to get out alive,' he said.
He told the inquest, 'I heard a bang from the starboard engine. The aircraft seemed to drop numerous feet, I couldn't tell how many feet it did drop down. We just nosedived and hit the water nose first.' Petty Officer Hanson, who was able to escape the helicopter despite a broken back, described the moment when he thought he had spotted the two pilots in the water. He said, 'There were two green helmets, they were no more than 50 or 60 feet away from me. I swam towards them, lifted them and they were empty. I hoped it was both of them but it was just empty helmets floating.' He added that he believed that a fire had broken out in one of the engines. Coroner Michael Johnston recorded a verdict of accidental death for Lieutenant Skidmore. Speaking to Lieutenant Lewis's mother, he added, 'I'm sorry the law's a fool when it won't allow me to hold an inquest into your daughter's death under exactly the same circumstances.' An air accident investigation was still ongoing.
Paul Clegg
Paul, an employee with a laundry services firm, died from heat exhaustion after getting inside the 13-metre long drum of an industrial washing machine to clear a blockage. Paul was trapped inside for more than two hours - because staff did not know there was an escape hatch The inquest was held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s Court in August 2003. The jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death' but said it had been 'contributed to by neglect'. Paul had to climb over or through different compartments in darkness using a torch to find the source of the blockage, but became trapped. Despite attempts by fellow workers to help him Paul spent more than two hours in the machine until fire crews cut through the tough stainless steel casing to get him out. One firefighter said his crew could not lift Mr Clegg through the compartments and on three or four occasions he asked a manager and an engineer if there was another way to gain entry only to be told there was not. But the inquest heard the machine had an access panel which was just one pocket along from where Paul had collapsed. A post-mortem examination found he died of heart failure brought on by hyperthermia. Dorset police told the court they would bring no criminal charges over the incident, as in their opinion the company's managers could not be said to have been 'grossly negligent'. At Bournemouth Crown Court on 7 July 2004 the company was fined £325,000 and ordered to pay £16,500 costs for breaching health and safety rules. Prosecuting counsel Mark Balysz said crawling through the machine 'was not an unusual occurrence' at the Winton laundry. He said it was 'pitch black' inside the washing machine with temperatures of up to 70 degrees centigrade. 'It was not rocket science to work out this was a very dangerous procedure. The temperature was not measured to make sure it was safe. They should have opened the access hatch before anyone entered the machine. The company didn't know of the existence of the hatch, there was no rescue equipment, no practice drills for rescues, no monitoring of time spent in the machine and insufficient means of communication.' He said safety guidance sent to the company by the machine's manufacturers and the Textile Services Association had 'not been considered in detail and maybe never even read'. Mr Balysz described the company's health and safety record as 'poor', recalling how they had previously been fined £59,000 for breaching legislation. Judge Roger Jarvis said, 'What tragically occurred on March 21 last year, family and friends lost their loved one and workmates lost a valued and respected colleague. I am quite sure the incident did not occur as a fault of some cost-cutting exercise to increase profit. It did, however, arise out of serious failings from a very senior level right down to those who were in attendance and in charge at the time of the accident.'
Neil Robertson
Neil was electrocuted after climbing a tree to cut a 15ft high hedge and suffering a fatal shock from 11,000-volt power lines at Willow Mead, Throop The inquest was held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s Court on 11 January 2005 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned. Next-door neighbour Leonard Vincent told the hearing how he had heard a hedge trimmer starting up. 'He must have only cut a few branches when there was a heavy thud and he landed in my garden, about three yards away,' he said. Mr Vincent alerted the emergency services and a cardiac team tried in vain to revive Neil. He was airlifted to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital where his death was confirmed a short time later. Home Office pathologist Dr Allan Anscombe said he had found burn marks on Neil's left thumb and both legs. A post-mortem examination showed he had been electrocuted. William Charman, who employed Bizibees Ltd to carry out weekly garden maintenance work, said, 'I did not expect them to trim the tops of the trees. It was the electricity company's responsibility to cut the hedge.' The jury heard how Neil's employer Keith Tricksey had been mowing the lawn and wearing ear protectors, unaware of what had happened, until he heard the commotion in the adjoining garden. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Frank Flannery told the hearing how the power lines and a warning notice in Mr Charman's garden had complied with safety regulations. Electrical specialist Efion Davies confirmed no defects have been found on the 7ft 11ins long petrol-driven hedge trimmer. 'The only source of electric was the overhead power lines. Given the deceased was using a long reach hedge trimmer, under overhead cables, there was a high risk of direct or indirect contact. A risk assessment should have been carried out. No work should have been done until the owners of the line had been consulted.' Mr Tricksey declined to give evidence. After jurors returned the verdict, Neil's father, also called Neil Robertson, said, 'I'm not happy and intend to take civil action. There are so many questions left unanswered.' "Neil was a loveable rogue who would have helped anyone. If we were in trouble all we had to do was pick up the phone and he would be right there. He was that sort of lad. Mr Flannery described the HSE's investigation as 'ongoing'.
Thomas Mooney
Thomas, known as Tommy, and another, his employer and colleague, were severely injured after two gas cylinders they were working on exploded at the scrapyard where they both worked. More than 30 firefighters were called to the Reliance scrapyard after the explosion. An eyewitness said, 'All of sudden there was a massive explosion. We ducked, instinct made us duck. I looked up in the air and there was this huge chunk of flaming metal. It must have flown 60ft in the air, above the electric pylons and came down 15-20ft away from us with an almighty bang.' A total of 10 factory and business premises were evacuated following the fire and were not re-opened until the afternoon. The
inquest is to be held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s
Court on a date yet to set.
Eddie Franklin
Eddie, a fishing boat skipper, drowned as his boat sunk while he went to get lifejackets to try to save his two passengers in Weymouth Bay. He was trapped inside the wheelhouse as the 33ft boat started taking in water through a damaged area of the hull and sank seconds later. Both passengers David Copp and Tina Bowerman survived. They were plucked from the sea by the coastguard helicopter near Lulworth after having clung to one lifejacket for 45 minutes. Eddie, whose leg had become trapped under a winch, was recovered from the boat more than 70ft below sea by a diver later that day. The jury at West Dorset Coroners' Court on 25 April 2006 returned a verdict of 'Accidental death'. A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) inspector told the inquest that the standard of maintenance of the vessel was poor and the boat would not have met the fishing code or the more stringent code of practice required by vessels carrying passengers. Mr Copp, an aquarium technologist from Weymouth, told the inquest he often went out with Mr Franklin to trawl for fish and marine life for aquariums. Ms Bowerman had joined the pair to see the specimens they caught and enjoy a day on the sea. Mr Copp said they noticed something was wrong with the boat and when Eddie looked inside the hull he found a large amount of water. By this time, the boat was standing up and Eddie went to get a lifejacket for Ms Bowerman and then went down below to try and get another two, Mr Copp said. 'That was when the boat flipped over. It stood up on its nose,' said Mr Copp. 'I was thrown out of the wheelhouse door on to the deck and it went down all around me and I found myself clinging on to the nose of the boat. Eddie was nowhere in sight. I was trying to get up to him to try to save him. Then the boat sank beneath me and I swam to Tina and with that one lifejacket I was kept alive.' James Lee, MAIB inspector, told the inquest that recent damage had been found near the stern, which would have allowed water into the aft and the engine room. He said: "I found the standard of maintenance rather poor. There were various symptoms of the maintenance being neglected or carried out in an improper manner.'
Christopher Losper
Christopher, a milkman, died in a hit-and-run collision during his early morning round. Christopher was found by a passing motorist lying in Station Road near his milk float in West Moors, Ferndown. He died at the scene of the incident from head injuries. Four teenagers - three 18-year-olds from Wimborne, Ferndown and Verwood, and a 17-year-old from Christchurch - were arrested and released on bail. Officers forensically examined three cars, a grey and a red Nissan Bluebird and a Ford Capri, as part of their continuing investigations. The
inquest is to be held at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner’s
Court on a date yet to set.
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