Man died after falling through 'fragile' roof in 'wholly avoidable' tragedy
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A man died after falling through an Anglesey building's fragile roof in a "wholly avoidable" tragedy. Leslie Bennion, who was 61, died after falling through a roof at the former Welsh Country Foods site in Gaerwen in 2018.
A court today heard that the company boss responsible for the work had shown 'remarkable' health and safety failings in the lead up to the tragedy. Dominic Lakeman-Pettit, 34, had chosen a 45ft cherry picker for Mr Bennion and another worker to use to replace panels on the roof and walls of the building and annex, rather than wait for a 60ft cherry picker which hadn't been available until later that week.
But Mold Crown Court heard the 45ft cherry picker - or Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) - wasn't long enough. Mr Bennion and his colleague completed some work but when they reached one area Mr Bennion and his colleague climbed out of the "safe confines" of its basket onto the roof to finish the job. Mr Bennion fell 20ft to his death. You can sign up for all the latest court stories here
Both the company Camclad Contractors Ltd and director Lakeman-Pettit admitted breaching a health and safety regulation. Today the judge His Honour Timothy Petts said the tragedy had been "wholly avoidable".
At a sentencing hearing today, he fined Camclad, of Wyboston in Bedfordshire, £225,000 and gave Lakeman-Pettit a four-month jail term suspended for 12 months. He must do 200 hours of unpaid work.
The judge said the sentences are based on guidelines and do not reflect the value of Mr Bennion's life. Prosecutor Craig Morris said the fall happened at the former Welsh Country Foods plant site in Gaerwen on January 24, 2018.
A risk assessment method statement (RAMS) which referred to nets under the roof was prepared but there was "never any intention to install nets", said Mr Morris. The RAMS was "little more than a meaningless piece of paper", said Mr Morris.
The defendant found out that there was a 45ft "Genie" cherry picker and asked about a bigger one but it wasn't available until the Thursday of that week. So he took what the judge called the "fateful" decision to have the two men use the 45ft platform.
Mr Bennion and a Mr Harris replaced broken panels at a loading bay and cooling system but when they reached a final structure their cherry picker was "15ft short", said Mr Morris. Both men stepped out of the basket to complete the job on the roof.
But Mr Harris, who has a false leg, "did not feel able to give himself a secure position to fit the last panel" so the men swapped positions. In a statement Mr Harris said Mr Bennion thought he was standing on a steel joist.
He moved and slipped, falling more than 20ft to the floor. Mr Morris said no-one in the company had used a tape measure, a handheld laser device or even drawings to measure the building's dimensions to help select a suitable cherry picker so fell "far below" industry standards in this case.
Cameron Crowe KC, defending Camclad and Lakeman-Pettit, said the director "genuinely believed it would reach". He added that Lakeman-Pettit had joined his father's firm Camclad Building Services in 2006 and been "supervised and mentored" by self-employed Mr Bennion.
Mr Crowe said Lakeman-Pettit, who was 24 at the time of the accident, mourns the loss of his mentor Mr Bennion.
"His remorse is tangible and sincere accompanied by grief he is yet to properly deal with." The court heard the defendant was relying on the two men to ring him if they thought the range of the machine was insufficient but the judge called that approach "inadequate".
It was "entirely foreseeable" that they would want to get on with the job rather than delay the work waiting for a larger platform. The company has a turnover of about £6.5 million and employs eleven people although it only employed five staff in 2018.
There were glowing references for Lakeman-Pettit and Camclad from customers, including Cambridge Utd Football Club, praising its safety record and professionalism.
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