Two sub-contractors have been handed eight-month prison sentences,
suspended for 18 months, after a worker was killed when part of a
33-tonne metal barge he was dismantling collapsed on top of him. William
Ward, 56, from Handsworth, Sheffield, sustained catastrophic crush
injuries in the incident at European Metal Recycling Ltd’s Kingsbury
depot in Warwickshire on 12 October 2011.
Warwickshire Crown Court
heard recently (4 February 2015) that Mr Ward was working for and
alongside brothers, Stuart and Dennis Cheesman, also of Sheffield, to
cut and dismantle two large steel barges using oxy-acetylene torches. Mr
Ward had finished cutting through the outer skin of the barge’s hull
and had moved inside the now unsupported structure to cut some
supporting braces when the side collapsed in on him. The married father
of two died at the scene.
The brothers, who were contractors
working for European Metal Recycling (EMR), failed to ensure the barge
was adequately supported to prevent a possible collapse, and did not
properly assess or manage the work.
Stuart Cheesman, 42, of
Mauncer Lane, Woodhouse, Sheffield, and Dennis Cheesman, 47, of
Greenwood Avenue, Sheffield, both pleaded guilty to a breach of Section
3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They were each
sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, ordered to
carry out 100 hours of unpaid work in the community. They must both
also pay costs of £3,000 each.
Today’s sentencing follows the
sentencing of European Metal Recycling Ltd on 19 December 2014, who were
fined £150,000 after HSE identified serious flaws with the method of
work being used to dismantle the barges.
Speaking after the
hearing, HSE inspector Mark Austin said: “Stuart and Dennis Cheesman
recruited Mr Ward to work for them as a burner and were responsible for
his safety and for ensuring the barges were being dismantled in a safe
manner. Our investigation found Stuart and Dennis Cheesman neglected
their responsibility and Mr Ward has paid the ultimate price with his
life – a terrible and senseless loss that was completely preventable had
the work been better planned and managed.”
Mr Ward’s wife of 25
years, Mrs Jayne Ward, said: “On hearing of Billy’s death, my world was
turned upside down. In those first days after his death, I was in a
state of shock. The news was so sudden and one of the worst things was
not to have been able to say goodbye. Other people can go home to talk
to their partners and parents. I have no partner now and the boys have
no father. I think of all the things that Billy will never see – the
boys getting married, having children, children which would have been
our grandchildren. As a couple, you build up a picture of your life
together going forward – seeing the boys settled, grandchildren,
retiring and spending time together. All this has been taken from him,
from me and from the boys.”
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