Pontins owner in court over death of grandmother after ceiling collapse
The parent company of Pontins has appeared in court after being charged with corporate manslaughter.
Eighteen people were injured at the holiday park firm's Brean Sands site in Somerset in February 2019 when a 40-metre section of structural ducting and ceiling fell inside an entertainment area.
Wendy Jones, a 68-year-old grandmother, was among six people taken to hospital at the time. She died the following August.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the fallen ceiling sections exposed live damaged electrics.
The parent company, Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd, is accused of corporate manslaughter between 1 January 2015 and 21 February 2019, and was charged last month.
The charge alleges the company was in "gross breach of its duty to take reasonable care for the safety of Wendy Jones".
It also alleges the company "exposed Wendy Jones to the risk of death from the collapse of the ventilation ducting".
Stephen Bennison, 59, from Farington in Lancashire, has been charged with failing to discharge general health/safety duty to a person other than an employee.
That refers to section three of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
It is alleged that as a self-employed contractor he "failed to conduct his undertaking" to ensure that "members of the public, including Wendy Jones, were not exposed to risks to their health and safety, namely the risk posed by overloaded ductwork in the Fun Factory".
Both defendants appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court.
District Judge Lynne Matthews sent the case to Bristol Crown Court for trial, where lawyers for the parties will next appear on Friday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
34 minutes ago
- Times
Public will pay price for police funding squeeze, say chiefs
Officer numbers will have to be cut as the public 'pay the price' for the lack of funding for policing in the spending review, police chiefs said. Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to restore neighbourhood policing is 'some way off' they said, after Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced that police funding would increase by £2.1 billion between 2026 and 2029 — an average real-terms increase of 1.7 per cent. The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said this would leave a shortfall of £1.2 billion and lead to forces 'cutting headcount to balance the books'. The Police Federation said the public would 'pay the price', while the Police Superintendents' Association (PSA) accused the government of a 'shameful abandonment of the police service'. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, is understood to be planning to review police funding in the autumn, when she will pressure the chancellor for extra money to meet Labour's pledge to recruit 13,000 police officers. Police chiefs said that without extra funding, the money would have to be found through rises in council tax or cuts to other policing services. Gavin Stephens, the NPCC chairman, said the funding rise would 'cover little more than annual inflationary pay increases' and that progress on the prime minister's key missions, such as halving violence against women and cutting knife crime, would be slower. Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said police numbers would fall, adding: 'I remain concerned that this spending review could result in insufficient funding for the Met and fewer police officers.' Starmer's promise to recruit 13,000 neighbourhood police officers was one of Labour's flagship policies in last year's general election. Paul Sanford, chairman of the NPCC's finance co-ordination committee, said: 'While we are looking at a 1.7 per cent increase, once pay is accounted for, once our non-pay pressures are accounted for, we think it will be incredibly difficult for the commitment to deliver the additional 13,000 neighbourhood police officers within this funding envelope. 'We've made some progress. We have a good 3,000 already recruited but based on this settlement, that does look a real challenge for us … Certainly we are going to be some way off unless some significant levers are going to be pulled. Any further progress towards the 13,000 without new money would only come from making savings in our budgets.' Sanford said it was impossible to predict what the neighbourhood policing shortfall would be. Labour's initial announcement said the 13,000 officers would comprise 4,000 police community service officers, 3,000 special constables, 3,000 existing officers and 3,000 new police constables. Stephens added that 'the size and shape of the police workforce will inevitably have to change'. He said: 'The amount falls far short of what is required to fund the government's ambitions and maintain our existing workforce. This is against a backdrop of increasing crime rates, with new and escalating threats from organised crime and hostile states, and more offenders being managed in the community as a result of an overstretched criminal justice system.' Sanford said the overhaul of sentencing laws, which will scrap short prison sentences and release some prisoners after they have served just a third of their sentence, would pile further pressure on police budgets. Additional investment in the Probation Service to monitor offenders would take time to phase in, he said, leaving police to deal with the consequences of more criminals on the streets. 'There isn't any additional money to deal with that. This will increase the workload of police officers.' Tiff Lynch, acting national chairwoman of the Police Federation, accused the chancellor of failing to listen to police officers or the home secretary. She said: 'This spending review should have been a turning point after 15 years of austerity that has left policing, and police officers, broken. Instead, the cuts will continue — and it's the public who will pay the price. 'As rank-and-file officers kit up for night duty this evening, they'll do so knowing exactly where they stand in the government's priorities. It is beyond insulting for cabinet ministers to call on police to 'do their bit' when officers are overworked, underpaid and under threat like never before. 'They are facing blades and bricks, managing mental health crises, while battling to protect their own, and carrying the weight of trauma and financial stress home with them every day.' Nick Smart, president of the PSA, said it was a 'shameful abandonment of the police service' and warned that the government was failing in its first duty of keeping public safe. He said: 'Today's funding announcement is a huge blow to the police service, which has once again been placed at the bottom of the government's list of priorities. It is the first duty of government to keep its citizens safe, yet today we see no evidence of a commitment to doing this. 'Many of the government's election pledges centred around a commitment to 'safer streets', promising the public that it would meet ambitious targets such as halving knife crime. Yet the lack of investment announced today means we will continue to struggle to deliver the basics, to maintain officer numbers, cover inflationary costs, cover pay awards and function as we are, let alone move forward on new public safety and transformation initiatives.'
Sky News
35 minutes ago
- Sky News
Ballymena riots latest: Fire started 'after vandalism' at leisure centre as water cannon deployed in third night of disorder in N Ireland
Disorder has broken out in Northern Ireland for the third successive night, after police said people are "waking up with genuine fear for their lives" following two nights of violence in Ballymena and other areas. Follow the latest.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Girl ,16, charged with assaulting police officer amid Salford disorder
A 16-year-old girl has been charged with assaulting a police officer amid disorder in Salford that saw cars set on fire and bricks being hurled. About 50 to 60 people gathered during the disturbance in the city's Lower Broughton Road at about 13:30 BST, Greater Manchester Police said. Two men have been arrested on suspicion of possessing a weapon, while two others were held on suspicion of drugs offences and theft. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with assaulting an emergency worker and has been bailed to appear in court at a later date. The force said cars were stolen and set on fire, motorbikes were being ridden erratically and bricks were thrown at officers, while wheelie bins and cars were used to block off the road. A police vehicle's windscreen was smashed, it added. A video shared on social media appeared to show a Fiat 500 reversing at speed along the road with its boot open, as another car followed Marcus Noden said there had been "no further incidents" since the unrest earlier but officers had "robust plans in place should any further incidents arise in the area". He added: "We are aware of speculation online that this incident is linked to immigration. This is categorically incorrect."This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and we took robust and appropriate action."A large number of officers will be remaining in the area overnight as a precaution."Those arrested include: A boy, 16, has been arrested on suspicion of theft and public order offences A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and drug possessionTwo more men - aged 18 and 19 - were arrested on suspicion of possessing a weaponA dispersal order remains in place until 14:00 BST on Thursday. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
