Company boss knocked down and killed by reversing lorry at work
A director at a textile company was knocked down and killed by a reversing lorry at its warehouse.
The British Millerain Company Limited has now been fined £220,000 after a probe by the Health and Safety Executive led to a prosecution.
Daniel Ames, 49, had volunteered to stay behind on the night to wait for the HGV to return, the HSE said in a statement. He offered to act as a 'banksman' to help the driver reverse safely into the warehouse in Rochdale, near Manchester.
However, the HSE said that during the manoeuvre the driver lost sight of Mr Ames and when he got out of the cab to check, he found him trapped between the HGV and a row of steel storage racking.
Ambulance crews attended but he was sadly pronounced dead later in hospital. As reported by the Manchester Evening News, the tragedy happened at around 5.30pm on June 22, 2023.
Speaking after the company was fined in the courts, Mr Ames' family said the outcome had left them with 'mixed emotions'.
In a statement released by the HSE, they said: "Daniel went to work and never came home again and we have a massive hole in our lives that will never be filled. We are glad the company have admitted being responsible for his death and been handed a fine.
"But we remain devastated that we no longer have Daniel in our lives. Today we have still lost a much-loved dad, husband, uncle, son and brother, and we are devastated that his life ended in this way.
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"He got on well with all his colleagues at work and had a great career. He was a respected professional who loved his job and was well known in the industry and was excited for his future. But that was taken away from us all in an instant. He was a real family man with a great sense of humour who was always making people smile and laugh and he enjoyed life to the full. We all miss him so much."
The incident was reported to the HSE, which went on to carry out an investigation that identified 'a number of failings exposing employees to various risks, including having no safe system in place for reversing HGVs', it said in a statement.
"Employees confirmed they had been doing the task for several years but had never received any training, said a spokesperson. "This included one employee who said he had on occasion reversed HGVs into the warehouse with someone else acting as banksman - despite neither being trained to do so.
" The HSE investigation also found the company had no risk assessment in place in relation to this work, with the regulator serving it with an improvement notice. Following the incident the company carried out a risk assessment that resulted in a safe system of work being implemented, which meant vehicles were no longer reversed using a banksman."
The British Millerain Company Ltd, based on Buckley Road, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to breaching a section of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The firm was also ordered to pay costs of £5,634 at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on July 10.
HSE inspector Jane Carroll spoke of a 'tragic case'. She said: "Daniel was clearly popular and respected, but his leadership and dedication to his colleagues was not properly protected by the defendant. A safe system of work was not in place. We will always take action against those who fail to protect people in work."
The M.E.N. has contacted the company for comment.
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