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FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS
Deaths of Timothy Bartrum, Graham Morris and George Barnes
Timothy fell into a 15' slurry tank after being overcome by fumes. Graham together with George leaped into the slurry tank, to help him. All three men, who worked for Enviro-Waste Ltd of Thetford, died in the tank, after becoming overcome by noxious fumes, the effect of too much carbon dioxide in a confined space. The inquest held at Norwich Coroner's Court opened on 2 March 2005. The hearing heard how Daniel Wilmott risked his life twice attempting to rescue his workmates, who were overcome by the fumes 'within seconds' of entering the vat sited in a field at Great Hockham, near Thetford. It also heard that the employer, Enviro-Waste, had no risk assessments or any other written safety measures to guide its employees if someone entered tanks or fell in. HSE inspector Eddie Scoggins said the slurry was in the process of decomposing and was giving off certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, which in a confined space could 'no longer support life'. He estimated the men had lost consciousness within 30 seconds of entering the tank. The tank contained 18 inches of chicken waste being used to fertilise nearby fields. Mr Scoggins believed that cleaning the tank stirred up the fermentation process, which meant there was even more carbon dioxide. After recording verdicts of misadventure for each of the three deaths, the coroner Mr Armstrong said, 'Without trespassing on matters that may need to be addressed elsewhere, it is amazing that such a situation can occur in a highly developed society where there should be such emphasis on health and safety. These men were simply doing their jobs. There is no getting away from it; they died unbelievably horrible deaths.' He said both Mr Barnes and Mr Morris acted with great bravery and said Mr Willimott put himself in 'grave danger' in the attempt to rescue his colleagues. A verdict of 'Misadventure' was returned in all three cases. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors said after the inquest that they were considering prosecuting Enviro-Waste. In February 2007 Roger Clark, a director, and general manager Gordon Betts of Thetford-based Enviro-Waste Ltd were each fined £10,000 after admitting breaching workplace health and safety legislation. The firm was separately fined £72,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 in costs. Yvonne Barnes, George's mother, criticised the fines meted out to the individual directors. Yvonne pointed out the fines represented less than £3,400 per victim of the tragedy. , while the judge in the case took the highly unusual step of defending his sentence, following a report of the case by the BBC. She said, 'It is disgusting, you could not even buy a car or new kitchen for that. We are absolutely disgusted. They did get off extremely lightly. It is very upsetting to say the least. We were just stunned.' Yvonne Barnes described her son as a 'hero' for trying to save the life of his colleague Timothy, losing his own in the process. She said she did not have the resources to challenge the law over the sentences passed for health and safety breaches that resulted in the deaths of workers. in a statement released after the trial Judge Peter Jacobs said, 'Normally I would not comment further on any case I have sentenced but in view of the criticism made of me on BBC Radio Norfolk I would point out that in fixing the level of fines, which was the only penalty available, I have to take into account the ability to pay.' Eddie Scoggins, HSE Principal Inspector, said after the sentencing, 'These three deaths should make clear to all, the extremely dangerous nature of the work in confined spaces. There have now been seven deaths from confined spaces incidents in the East of England since 2003. If any proof was needed, this shows that any work in confined spaces is extremely hazardous. 'Proper precautions must always be taken at all times for this kind of work. Don't enter unless you absolutely have to. If you are going to enter a confined space then you must have fully trained staff, a documented system of work, atmospheric monitoring and emergency rescue arrangements. There may be no oxygen inside, or toxic gases may have built up. 'The HSE wishes to make it clear that we expect the risks associated with this type of work to be properly managed in accordance with published guidance, whatever the size of the company. We will continue to take action against those who flout the law and put people's lives at risk.'
Geoffrey Branch
Geoffrey was a heating engineer working alone on domestic premises in Hingham, Norfolk. His death followed a fall from a ladder. The inquest was held at Norwich and District Coroner's Court on 28 February 2005 when when a verdict of 'Misadventure' was returned.
Christopher Meachen
Christopher, who had been working at the Concrete Company plant on the Longwater Industrial Estate, at Costessey, Norfolk, as a technician for two months, was killed in November 2005. Christopher became caught in an unguarded slew conveyer. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination revealed he had died from multiple injuries. Area manager Roy Burrows, 46, and managing director Timothy Dighton, 45, pleaded guilty to Christopher's manslaughter at Norwich Crown Court. The two were convicted and bailed to be sentenced in July 2007. On 5 July 2007 the Concrete Company Ltd was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £164,000 (£75,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation, with £89,000 costs) and two managers at the firm were imprisoned. Dighton was jailed for 12 months. As company director he will bear the brunt of the fines and costs. Burrows was jailed for nine months. The court heard the company had paid no regard to the safety, the livelihoods or the physical well-being of the men and his death would not have happened if managers had invested just £2,000 in safety measures. It has since emerged that the firm slipped off the radar of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - which normally carries out regular checks - as director Timothy Dighton failed to inform the watchdog of the company's existence. Following Christopher's death the HSE visited the company's 13 sites across East Anglia and uncovered a catalogue of problems, issuing 15 warnings, many for potentially deadly flaws in day-to-day practices. Speaking after the case, Christopher's fiancée, Helen Pamplin said, 'He loved family life and our children were the most important thing in the world to him. He did not deserve to die in this way - nobody should have to go to work and not come back.' Prosecutor William Coker said Christopher had been clearing the pit while the conveyor belt was still running. This was regular practice at the site despite the fact that there was no guard on the machine and no emergency stop button within reach. He said that once Christopher, who worked more than fifty hours a week, became trapped 'death was a virtual certainty'. Nobody else was present to shut off the machine. A post-mortem found he died of multiple injuries. The guards which should have been fitted to the machine would have cost £2,000. 'The precautions which would have prevented this accident were cheap, simple and well understood,' Mr Coker added. Christopher had been working at the firm for two months and had no previous experience in the industry. He was given no formal training and was instead expected to learn from a colleague who himself only had limited experience. It was common for employees to work at dangerous heights and no health and safety procedures were in place at any of the company's sites. Even after the death, Dighton was observed putting his own life at risk by working in a confined space without taking the necessary precautions and climbing on conveyor belts without ensuring the power supply was locked. Although Burrows played a lesser role in the death as his job was predominantly sales, he had put himself in a position of responsibility. Passing sentence, Judge Peter Jacobs said, 'He knew what was going on was totally unsafe and totally improper. If he didn't know, he should have done.' In mitigation the court heard that both men were deeply sorry for what happened and were of previous good character. Judge Jacobs added there could never be a happy conclusion to such a case, saying, 'I just wish I could turn the clock back two years.' Outside court Justin McCracken, HSE deputy chief executive, said, 'Christopher Meachen's tragic and wasteful death could and should have been avoided by very simple and straightforward safety precautions. 'We regularly come across examples of poor health and safety standards at workplaces but the inspectors involved in this case were appalled by the total lack of basic health and safety measures at this company's site, which directly led to the fatal incident.' Det Insp Richard Graveling said, 'Christopher Meachen had gone to work on November 7 and, through no fault of his own, he met with a tragic death. It is clear that, had the company made remedial safeguards around the conveyer, Mr Meachen would be with us today.'
Ray Bane
Ray died after being crushed between two industrial skips at Norman Wenn skip hire in East Tuddenham, near Dereham The inquest was held at Norwich and District Coroner's Court on 20 April 2007 when when an 'Accidental Death' verdict was returned.
Paul Cavanagh
Paul, a security guard, was stabbed to death at the HMV store in Chapelfield shopping centre, Norwich. In August 2007 a jury at Norwich Crown Court found David Watson, of Hackney, east London, guilty of murdering Paul and was jailed for 24 years. Watson, who had denied murder, was also sentenced to four years for the wounding of a second security guard. The sentences will run concurrently. Watson had said he stole a CD from HMV as he thought he would get away with it, but he was challenged by Paul. The court heard that Watson had a bag with him containing £1,400 worth of hard drugs, and he was worried that if they were discovered, his dealer - to whom he owed money - would blow up his mother's house. After being taken to a back room while the police were called Watson plunged a knife in Paul's neck severing his jugular vein. After the case, chief inspector Roger Wiltshire, of Norfolk Police, said, 'This incident was truly awful - a hard-working family man lost his life after what effectively started off as a petty shoplifting.' In January 2008 Watson lost a High Court appeal to have his 24-year jail term shortened. Paul's parents said 'justice' had been done after the appeal was refused.
Jon Crosby
Jon, an EDF Energy linesman, died as a result of serious injuries he sustained in the course of his work on a power cable at an electrical pole in an open space in Sawmills Road. Jon who was an experienced linesman, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for treatment but later died. The inquest will be held at Norwich and District Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set.
Michael Harland
Michael died at North Barsham near Wells-on-Sea when he was ejected from a 1,400mph Tornado jet bomber as it performed an inverted roll on a test flight over Norfolk. He was working as a civilian navigator for BAE, which services the RAF Tornados based at RAF Marham. The pilot later landed the aircraft at RAF Marham and the ejector seat was found near the Sandringham estate. A Ministry of Defence (MoD) board of inquiry would investigate the incident, an official said. Michael's body was found in a field at South Creake and was pronounced dead at the scene. The inquest will be held at Norwich and District Coroner's Court on a date yet to be set.
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