Cases involving convictions of companies, directors and business owners since 2005

Name of Deceased	Date of Deaths	Conviction Date	Convicted Defendants	Status	Sentence
Daniel Dennis	April 2003	6 May 2008	Roy Brendon Clark	Business owner	Ten months imprisonment
Paul Alker	June 2007	November 2007	Steven Smith	Director	Two years and six months imprisonment
Christopher Meachen	Nov 2005	12 June 2007	Roy Burrows	Area manager	Nine months imprisonment
			Timothy Dighton	Managing Director	Twelve months imprisonment
			Concrete Company Ltd		Fined £75,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation, with £89,000 costs
Krisztian Takacs	Aug 2005	15 Feb 2007	Philip Wyman	Boat owner	18 months imprisonment
David Bail	May 2003	Aug 2006	Michael Shaw	Director	15 months imprisonment
			Gavin Shaw	Director	Fined £1,500 for breach of health and safety legislation
			Change of Style		Directors and company fined total of £70,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation
Colin Buckley, Darren Burgess, Chris Walters, Gary Tindall (Tebay Rail tragedy)	Feb 2004	Mar 2006	Mark Connolly Roy Kennett	Business owner Employee	Nine years imprisonment Two years imprisonment
'Cockle Pickers'	Feb 2004	Mar 2006	Lin Liang Ren	'Gangmaster'	14 years
Mark Jones	Feb 2004	Oct 2005	Wayne Davies	Sole Trader?	18 months imprisonment
Kevin Arnup	Dec 2003	Jun 2005	Paul White	Director	1 year imprisonment
			M V White Ltd		Fine of £30,000 for breach of health and safety legislation
Daryl Arnold	Jun 2003	Jan 2005	Lee Harper	Managing Director	16 month imprisonment
			Harper Building Contractors Ltd		Charged with corporate manslaughter and breach of Section 2 of HSWA (These charges remain on the file as the company is in liquidation)

Death of Daniel Dennis

Daniel, a roofer, died in April 2003 when he fell through a skylight in the roof of a Matalan store at the Cwmbran Retail Park, Torfan, Gwent. Daniel had just started his first job with the roofing company and had not received any safety training or instruction on working at heights. His father had even contacted Roy Clark who traded as North Eastern Roofing to warn him about his lack of training and experience. He was able to walk across part of the roof to access materials and the skylight, which was not cordoned off, gave way under his weight causing him to fall approximately 28ft (9m) to the floor below.

The inquest was held at Gwent Coroner’s Court in Newport on 15 March 2005. The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing in less than 10 minutes.

Despite the inquest verdict the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to bring charges of gross negligence manslaughter against Daniel’s employer. Daniel’s father, Peter Dennis, commented, 'The CPS failed to bring charges which left us flabbergasted. Our son was killed within days of starting work, but there was no accountability for his employer. How is that justice? We want to ensure that other families never go through what we have.' Allan Garley, regional secretary of the GMB, said in April 2006, 'The death of a 17-year-old boy in his first week at work is an absolute tragedy. The GMB isn't after vengeance, but we want employers who kill workers to be properly held to account.'

Lawyers acting on behalf of Daniel’s family sought a judicial review of the decision made by the CPS. It is only the second time that the CPS has been brought to court in respect of a fatal accident at work. The review commenced at the High Court on 30th November.

In December 2006 Lord Justice Waller in the High Court judge ruled the matter should be referred back to the CPS. Giving his ruling on 29 December Lord Justice Waller said there were 'failures' over factors which influenced the CPS not to prosecute. The judge said a solicitor acting for the CPS did not take into account the 'seriousness of a failure to give proper instruction not to go on the roof prior to induction or proper instruction'. He also said the CPS had not taken sufficient account of the Newport inquest jury's unlawful killing verdict in March last year.

The judge said the matter should be referred back to the CPS and that it was possible that a different decision could be made when these factors are taken into consideration but the the final decision would still rest with the CPS.

After the ruling Peter Dennis said, 'This decision gives us some hope this new year that justice for Daniel will finally be achieved.'

Mick Antoniw, one of the solicitor's acting for Daniel's family, said, 'This is a landmark ruling as it's only the second case where the courts have interfered in a workplace death. We now expect the CPS to review and overhaul the way they consider the evidence in cases involving workplace deaths.'

In October 2007 Gwent Crown Prosecution Service reversed its decision and said it would now prosecute Roy Clark the owner of North Eastern Roofing. Mick Antoniw said, 'There are lessons to learn. In future, it’s essential for the CPS to become more proactive and to take a greater interest in workplace fatalities and develop greater expertise in health and safety law.'

Roy Clark entered no plea when he appeared before Cwmbran magistrates charged with Daniel's manslaughter. He was due before Newport Crown Court on November 22 2007.

On the eve of the trial in April 2008 Roy Clark admitted the manslaughter charge.

On 6 May 2008 at Swansea Crown Court Clark was jailed for 10 months.

Trial judge Mr Justice John Griffith Williams pointed out Clark had twice been warned by the Health and Safety Executive before Daniel’s death. The first time was in 1997 when Clark’s employees working on a roof were found to be dangerously close to skylights. The second was in 1999 when some of his workers were seen standing too close to the edge of a building.

As well as being jailed yesterday, he was also ordered to pay £17,900 in costs. The court heard Clark and his wife Janet, also one of his employees, earned £70,000 from the firm in 2007.

The judge told Clark, 'Your admitted breach of your duty of care to Daniel Dennis led to the loss of a young life so full of promise. As his mother so movingly said in her victim impact statement, he was a 17-year-old whose enthusiasm for life was breathtaking and he filled the room with jokes and a wicked sense of humour.

'One in five construction deaths are due to falls from height and as a man with 32 years experience in the industry the dangers should have been only too obvious to you.'

After the conviction Daniel’s father said, 'This was not revenge. There is no way in my mind that Roy Clark maliciously went out to kill my son but he had a duty of care to look after him and make sure he was safe.

'He’s now learned a harsh lesson though I do not want to see anyone going to jail. Clark should have looked after my son.'

Death of Paul Alker

Paul, a roofing contractor, fell through a skylight at a Wrexham store
and died in Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Steven Smith, 36, from Rhostyllen, near Wrexham, admitted manslaughter, intending to pervert the course of justice and health and safety breaches.

Sentencing at Mold Crown Court was adjourned until 29 November, but Smith was told prison was inevitable.

Smith, a director of Wrexham Roofing Services, had previously indicated not guilty pleas, and a trial had been planned in December. But after a sentencing indication from the judge, he admitted manslaughter by gross negligence.

The charge stated that Smith failed to ensure Paul had sufficient training, knowledge or experience to carry out work at dangerous heights, or to carry out roofing works.

He also failed to ensure people working on the roof had safety harnesses.

Smith admitted a second charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of Paul and his colleague Aaron Pugh under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

In addition, he admitted a third charge of doing acts intending to pervert the course of justice - by installing safety harnesses after the accident and pretending they had been present.

Judge John Rogers QC said Smith's guilty pleas would make a substantial difference to the length of his sentence, but a prison sentence would be inevitable.

Smith was jailed for a total of two and a half years

Death of 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 - 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.'

Death of Krisztian Takacs

Krisztian, a 26-year-old Hungarian, died in an explosion and a fire at a boat yard, which also left the boat owner with severe burns.

Krisztian and Philip Wyman the owner had been carrying out work on the moored vessel's hull in Smith Quay, Woolston, in Southampton. It was thought a blast, which caused the fire to spread throughout the boat, happened as the men smelted lead. Krisztian suffered smoke inhalation and died in the fire on the 48ft (14.6m) boat.

It was announced in August 2006 that Philip Roger Wyman had been charged with manslaughter. He was also charged with three health and safety offences.

Mr Wyman was found guilty of Krisztian's manslaughter by a jury at Winchester Crown Court in February 2007. Wyman who denied manslaughter and breaching the Health and Safety Act was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The jury was not asked for a verdict on alternative charges of breaching Health and Safety legislation.

Mr Justice Royce is quoted as saying to Mr Wyman, 'A fire started. You managed to escape. He sadly did not.'

Both Krisztian and Wyman were on board the partially built yacht melting lead for the keel using propane gas cylinders.

In court it was alleged that Wyman's gross negligence had caused the fire. Expert witnesses said working conditions on the boat constituted 'an immediate and serious risk'.

The court heard that Mr Wyman had failed to fit regulators on gas bottles that Mr Takacs was using to melt lead for the keel in the hull. Gas appliances without regulators can make larger flames but are less controllable.

Stuart Hamilton, health and safety inspector, told the court he found no evidence that regulators had been used, ‘I'm sure an in-line regulator, which is a solid metal block, would have survived the fire and been found nearby.’

He added: ‘If Mr Wyman had brought the cylinders for use he should have known, or been advised of, the type of regulator that should be fitted to reduce the pressure in the hose and the risk of leaks.’

The prosecution said Mr Wyman had a ‘thoroughly unsafe system of work’ and ‘something of a cavalier approach to assembling the equipment for this dangerous operation’.

The court heard Krisztian – who was inexperienced and had poor English – should not have been melting inside the boat because it was full of inflammable materials and poisonous fumes.

Death of David Bail

Michael Shaw and Gavin Shaw, directors and business owners of Change of Style, a stone-cutting company in Totton on the outskirts of Southampton, were charged with the manslaughter of David Bail, a 22 year old employee.

The manslaughter trial opened in June 2006 at Winchester Crown Court. The prosecution told the court that the pair were responsible for David's death because they switched off vital safety equipment. The trial heard that a light beam system that would have stopped the machine if anyone got too close had been deactivated. David died from massive head injuries.

Witnesses said Michael Shaw had said the stoppages cost too much time and money.

Mr Shaw denied any responsibility throughout a three-week trial that ended with a hung jury on 2 August but he changed his plea at Winchester Crown Court the next day. He received a two-year suspended prison sentence.

The judge, Mr Justice Owen, said the only reason he had suspended the sentence was because jail would jeopardise the future of the company which employs 25 people. 'Some may feel you have got off lightly. But you will have to live out your days in the knowledge that you are responsible for that terrible tragedy, the needless death of this young man.'

Outside court, David's sister, Georgina Bail, 27, said of the sentence, 'I'm outraged. They have taken away my brother, my soulmate, my best friend. My life has been torn apart. I wouldn't like to put into words what I think of Mr Shaw. We're quite glad he has admitted it but it has taken him three years,' she said.

David's father Chris said, 'At least another tragedy has been prevented because of the safety checks at this and other places. As a family we would not want to bear the loss of 25 people's livelihoods. If he was jailed he would only do 12 months.'

Michael Shaw and the company were fined a total of £70,000 for ten breaches of health and safety regulations. His son, Gavin Shaw, was fined £1,500 for one health and safety breach. He was earlier cleared of a manslaughter charge due to the lack of evidence.

A manslaughter charge against the firm was ordered to lie on file. The court heard that Peter Cowley, production manager at the time of the death, had pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety regulations. Magistrates fined him £600 and ordered him to pay £100 costs.

In September 2006 an inquest jury at Hampshire Coroner's Court returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

Detective Sergeant Steve Edbury, of Hampshire Police, who led the investigation, told the jury that the automated machine, which cut stone for fireplaces and kitchen worktops, had light sensors around it that immediately stopped the machine when someone broke the continuous beam.

It also had hinged guards that, if lowered when the machine was working, would break a circuit and stop it. But Mr Edbury said these safety devices had been bypassed to make the machine more efficient because if it was stopped it had to start the programme again costing time and money.

'It was common knowledge that the photo-electric beam had been deliberately defeated,' the coroner Mr Wiseman said. 'It's a case so fundamental, if one wasn't careful, one would be running a factory back to Victorian times.

'Sadly, sometimes because of a wish to retain employment or whatever the combination of factors, that even where there are a significant number of people involved the whistle is not necessarily blown on the process itself.' Mr Wiseman told Mr Edbury, 'You have painted a really quite horrific picture of the way the factory was operating and the risks, indeed, that individuals were taking in relation to their own safety, let alone any question of guiding the company.'

In November 2006 Sir Ivor Judge presiding at the Criminal Appeal Court in London declared the suspended jail sentence 'too lenient' and imposed instead a 15 month jail term on Mr Shaw.

Sentencing Shaw, Sir Judge said, 'This disaster has been with you for three years - serving a sentence will help to expurgate the undoubted sense of guilt you feel. A young man lost his life because of the gross negligence of his employer. We emphasise health and safety in this place of employment was literally a matter of life and death. Here, safety was ignored for business convenience, at the peril of death. The machine and the other two had, in fact, been dangerous and potentially lethal from the day they were first installed some years earlier.'

Sir Ivor Judge said Shaw did not personally disable the safety devices, but through his guilty plea, acknowledged safety procedures in his premises were his responsibility.

Deaths of Colin Buckley, Darren Burgess, Chris Walters, Gary Tindall

Mark Connolly, the owner of MAC Railway Services, sub-contractors for Carillion rail, was found guilty on four counts of manslaughter and jailed for nine years. He was also found guilty on three counts of breaching Health and Safety laws. Roy Kennett, Mark Connolly's crane operator, was also found guilty on four counts of manslaughter and on a single count of breaching Health and Safety laws and jailed for two years.

Colin, Darren, Chris and Gary were among a group of ten workers, employed by Carillion Rail, who were carrying out maintenance work on the West Coast mainline.

During the eight week trial, the court was told how Connolly was responsible for the deaths of the four workers by failing to carry out vital repairs to the wagon. Jurors heard how the hydraulic brake system on the three tonne flatbed trailer was found to have been disconnected. Investigators also discovered the hydraulic tubes had been filled with ball bearings, rather than brake fluid, to give the impression that everything was above board. Instead, wooden chocks were being used to stop the trailer moving. But the wagon laden with the steel railway track over-ran the wooden chocks, travelling almost four miles down the track before hitting the four workers. Jurors also heard the men were unable to hear the approaching wagon because they were wearing helmets designed to protect against the noise of a generator.

The wagon travelled another four miles before coming to rest at a viaduct. Connolly was accused in court of deliberately sabotaging the wagon for financial gain.

'It is only right that bosses responsible for the avoidable deaths of workers should go to prison,' RMT, the rail union, general secretary Bob Crow said after the sentencing.

'Four men died at Tebay as the result of cynical and deliberate tampering with a vehicle to hide the fact that it was not fit for its purpose, and for no other reason than making money. One-man-and-a-dog outfits like Connolly's should never be allowed anywhere near our railways, and it is the crazy set-up that lets any number of subbies and agencies loose on the network that created the conditions for this tragedy to take place.'

'Network Rail have already brought rail maintenance back in-house for safety and efficiency reasons, and for exactly the same reasons they should bring all renewals work back in-house too,' Bob Crow added.

In February 2007 Mr Connolly appealed against his conviction and sentence.
After a three-hour hearing at London's Appeal Court Lord Justice Pill refused Mark Connolly's legal team permission to use fresh evidence in the case.

Connolly's lawyers claimed he had every reason to believe that any risk of disaster would be averted because of safety guidelines requiring that timber sleepers be laid across tracks where workmen are employed.

Mr Richard Lissack QC said the new point he wished to explore focused on a new 'safety bulletin' issued last year in the wake of an accident near King's Cross station which he said demonstrated the importance of maintaining gradient protection.

But Lord Justice Pill, refusing the application to bring in fresh evidence, said the new guidance did not apply to the circumstances in which the Tebay tragedy occurred.

But the judge – sitting with Mr Justice Burton and Judge Findlay Baker QC – said he was now forced to adjourn the appeals brought by Connolly and his co-accused Roy Kennett to allow the men to present other grounds why their convictions should be overturned as 'unsafe'.

Both men are appealing against their convictions, while Connolly also argues that his jail term was 'manifestly excessive'.

In March 2007 Mark Connolly had his sentence cut from nine years to seven when he appeared before appeal court judges but they dismissed his appeal against his convictions.

After a hearing at London’s Criminal Appeal Court Lord Justice May declared his convictions entirely 'safe' – but concluded that his nine year sentence was 'rather too great'.

The judge also upheld the manslaughter convictions of Roy Kennett.

Christine Burgess, whose son Darren was one of four killed, said in reaction to the reduced sentence that she was 'disgusted' at the Appeal Court's decision.
She said her family was serving a life sentence because of their loss.

Back to the top

Death of Cockle Pickers

Lin Liang Ren was found guilty of 21 counts of manslaughter, guilty of conspiracy to commit facilitation ( a criminal offence of enabling illegal immigrants to work in this country) and guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, after a six month trial at Preston Crown Court.

The gangmaster, girlfriend Zhao Xiao Qing and cousin Lin Mu Yong were also convicted of facilitation - helping cocklers to break immigration laws. Lin Mu Yong, 31, was sentenced to four years and nine months. Zhao Xiao Qing, 21, got two years and nine months.

When they have served their sentences the Home Office will have to decide whether or not to deport the trio.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Henriques said Lin Liang Ren had, 'cynically and callously' exploited his countrymen and women and provided them with dreadful living conditions. He said the gangmaster had been motivated by avarice and displayed little regard for the safety of the cocklers. He described how Lin Liang Ren had waited 50 minutes before alerting the authorities to the impending disaster.

He said, 'Had you even then decided to evacuate the beach, there might have been no loss of life.'

Lin Liang Ren had also told a series of 'spectacular lies' to authorities in a bid to evade justice and displayed complete indifference to the fate of the victims, the judge said. He had attempted to blame everyone but himself for the deaths of the illegal Chinese workers.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Supt Mick Gradwell, who led the Lancashire Police investigation, said the force was pleased with the sentences. 'I think they reflect the seriousness of the offences and I'm hoping they will act as a deterrent to other people,' said Mr Gradwell.

'I hope lessons have been learned but it's not about just cockle pickers, it's the whole issue of illegal immigration. It's a truly awful type of slave trade, exploiting people in this way,' he added.

Outside court, ex-councillor Patricia England said there was an 'element of racism' about the fact all three Chinese defendants were convicted. There were also accusations of racism over the fact the two English defendants had been acquitted.

Ms England said, 'There is an element of racism here, justice here is more from our point of view, from our situation and our society, not from theirs.'

Gina Tam, translating on behalf of the brother of Lin Mu Yong, said the three defendants had been made 'scapegoats'. She said: "I think the Government is responsible, they knew they were there. This looks like a racist system to me - the three Chinese all guilty.'

The Morecambe MP Geraldine Smith told the inquest that she had warned about the area's dangerous currents and quicksands and asked the Immigration Service to be involved.

Ms Smith said that, despite Home Office claims, no action took place against illegal cocklers in Morecambe Bay the previous August. The information she was given had 'deliberately set out to deceive'. Immigration minister Beverly Hughes conceded there had been inaccuracies.

It was found that the Immigration Service had higher priorities since the workers were difficult to remove from the UK and would never testify against their gang masters. Ms Smith said she was told that 'resource issue' meant the Immigration Service had decided not to intervene.

Back to the top

Death of Mark Jones

Wayne Davis was convicted of the manslaughter of his employee 40 year old Mark Jones after a three week trial in Birmingham Crown Court in October 2005. He was sentenced in January 2006. Mark Jones and Adam Waygood (who was seriously injured) were building steel-frame barns at Hill Farm in Kinve, near Stourbridge, South Staffordshire when a home made overhead platform on top of a fork lift truck fell over throwing the two workers over 30 feet.

The trial heard that the two workers were not provided with any safety harnesses although they were working up to 30 feet high. A former employee also told the court that he was sacked because he refused to work at height with no safety equipment. This same employee told the court that he heard Mark Jones ask for harnesses or safety nets - but none were provided whilst he was employed. Mark Jones's wife also had raised concern about safety directly with Wayne Davies. The trial also heard evidence that there were faults on a fork list vehicle used by the workers. The vehicle's axle lock-out system was not working, the steering was very heavy, and a weight overload alert system was out of order.

In May 2006 Appeal Court judges upheld the manslaughter conviction for Wayne Davies. Judge Sir Michael Wright, dismissing Davies' challenge at London's Criminal Appeal Court, described the machinery as 'lethal and dangerous'. Sir Michael - sitting with Lord Justice Auld and Mr Justice Gibbs - said the machine had a 'plethora of faults'.

The court also heard that the widow of 40-year-old Mr Jones, from Ludlow, Shropshire, was unlikely to receive any compensation as Davies had possessed no employers' liability insurance.

Sir Michael said of Davies, 'His total disregard for the safety of his workmen calls for punishment of an exemplary nature.'

Back to the top

Death of Kevin Arnup

Paul White, who ran Knighton-based A&E Buildings, admitted committing the manslaughter of the company's foreman Kevin Arnup who was sucked into a shredder at the MV White's recycling plant at Ketteringham, near Norwich, in December 2003 and in September 2005 received a twelve month custodial sentence at Norwich Crown Court.

Kevin climbed into the paper-shredding machine to clear blockages when the machine started, fatally injuring him. The machine contained a series of hammers projecting 15cm from a shaft, which revolved at high speed.

The court heard that the mains current should have been switched off before anyone tried to clear a blockage, but it was common practice in the company for this rule to be ignored both by workers and by