British Airways fined £3.2m after luggage handlers hurt in similar accidents
Two employees were injured in 'near identical' incidents just months apart while using loading equipment that did not have sufficient protection including edge guard rails, London's Southwark Crown Court heard.
Ravinder Teji, a ground operation agent who had been with the company for seven years, suffered back injuries and cut his head after falling 1.5 metres to the ground from a televator on August 25 2022; while Shahjahan Malik was 'seriously injured' with a bleed on the brain after plunging 3.0m as he used TLD elevator on March 8 2023.
Televators and TLD elevators are machines that are used to load baggage containers into aircraft holds. Operators can be between 1.5m and 3.0 metres above ground level while they are in use.
British Airways PLC previously pleaded guilty to two breaches of Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 in the criminal prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
BA was accused of failing to ensure suitable and sufficient measures were taken to protect employees.
This included those working at height who face a risk of falling a distance and being injured while using ground service equipment such as televators, for the loading and offloading of baggage from aircraft.
Judge Brendan Finucane KC said, 'I am satisfied that in both incidents the culpability was high' as he fined BA £3,208,333 and also ordered it to pay £20,935 in costs and a £120 victim surcharge.
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North Wales Live
43 minutes ago
- North Wales Live
Man attacked teen with fence post he believed was 'up to no good' breaking his arm and wrist
A man launched an attack on a teenager he believed was "up to no good" near his property, breaking his arm and wrist, a court heard. George Kovacs assaulted the 17-year-old with a fence post and pole and then threatened to kill him if he returned. A judge said he had read about issues involving people misbehaving and causing damage in the area where the defendant lived, but sending the 57-year-old father to prison, he said: "What you did went far beyond anything you reasonably thought you could do to protect that property." Amy Edwards, prosecuting, told Caernarfon Crown Court on December 17, 2022, two then-17-year-old friends were walking in the mountains in the Waunfawr area of Gwynedd when they noticed an abandoned outbuilding and "out of curiosity" walked towards it, reports WalesOnline. Ms Edwards said as they approached the building a vehicle drove past them before stopping and reversing back to them. The driver of the vehicle, Kovacs, got out and shouted "What the f*** are you boys doing here?" The court heard that one of the teenagers, Kian Williams, who is now an adult, apologised to the driver but Kovacs continued "ranting" and the teenager told him: "There's no need to be a d*** about it." The prosecutor said Kovacs then grabbed a fence post and began swinging it around and striking Mr Williams, with the teenager putting his arms up to protect himself. The force of the blows were such that the post snapped. The court heard the defendant continued shouting that the boys should leave the area before grabbing Mr Williams, pushing him up against a wall and throwing a number of punches, all of which missed their target. The prosecutor said the teenagers made for the footpath but Kovacs armed himself with a pole and followed them. The defendant struck Mr Williams a number of times to the legs and the back, though the blows to the back were cushioned by the rucksack he was wearing. Kovacs told the teenagers: "I'm going to kill you... come back again and I will slice you." For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter The court heard that the teenagers made their way home and Mr Williams was subsequently taken to Bangor's Ysbyty Gwynedd by his father where doctors found he had a fractured arm and a fracture to bones in his wrist which required surgery. Meanwhile Kovacs put a post on a Facebook saying: "The lads who came from Liverpool or Manchester to my place, don't come back... next time they will have more then just a limp. Merry Christmas." He also said he had the registration of a vehicle they had been seen getting into. The court heard Kovacs was arrested and interviewed and admitted striking the teenager with a pole saying his actions were justified as he was protecting his property. In an impact statement written in May this year which was read to the court the victim said he still suffers with pain in his wrist and gets flashbacks to what happened in Waunfawr. He said he feels fearful when he goes out and constantly thinks of the defendant, adding: "This incident has taught me a lot of lessons about the man I want to be. I want to be the complete opposite of him." George Kovacs, of Ceunant, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, had previously pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has five previous convictions for eight offences including weapons offences but none for violence. Laura Knightly, for Kovacs, said the defendant lived in a "secluded area" with his wife and children and said he was a hard-working man. She, while in no way excusing his actions on the day in question, said there had been "concerns and fears in the area for some time" and that Kovacs' suspicions of the teenagers and his fears of what might happen "caused him to behave in this out-of-character way". The barrister added that her client thinks he may have blacked out during the incident. Judge Timothy Petts said in December 2022 Kovacs saw two young men in the vicinity of a property near to where he lived and, believing they were "up to no good", he confronted them. He said he had read references written to the court detailing problems with people misbehaving and causing damage in the rea but he told the defendant: "What you did went far beyond anything you reasonably thought you could do to protect that property." With a 15% discount for his guilty plea Kovacs was sentenced to 33 months in prison. He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was also made the subject of a 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.
Daily Mirror
10 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Mum stabbed to death by 'controlling' husband who tracked her down to a refuge
Kulsuma Akter, 27, died after being stabbed several times in Bradford city centre as she pushed her baby in a pram - her husband Habibur Masum pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder A mum was repeatedly stabbed to death by her 'violent, jealous and controlling' husband after he tracked her down to a refuge where she was staying to escape him, prosecutors have told a jury. Habibur Masum, 26, launched a 'ferocious' knife attack on Kulsuma Akter, 27, after confronting her in Bradford city centre as she pushed their seven-month old baby in a pram. Bradford Crown Court jurors were told Masum had previously threatened to kill Ms Akter and, at the time of the attack on April 6 last year, was subject to court bail conditions ordering him to keep away from her. Mrs Akter later died in hospital after suffering several stab wounds. The baby was not harmed in the incident, police said. Today the murder trial of her husband Habibur Masum, 26, began at Bradford Crown Court. He had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife, but denies Ms Akter's murder. Masum, following proceedings with the help of a Bengali interpreter, also denied two charges of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of stalking at an earlier hearing. Opening the case on Monday, prosecutor Steven Wood KC said Masum traced Ms Akter to Bradford and, in the days leading up to the attack, tried to lure her out of the accommodation by pretending to be from a GP's surgery and offering her fake appointments. At 3pm on April 6, Ms Akter was walking with a friend while pushing her seven-month-old son in a pram when she was confronted by the defendant who walked with her into a shop. Mr Wood said she was shocked to see Masum as she was under the impression that he was in Spain. CCTV footage played in court captured the moment Masum walked with Ms Akter until he stopped her, spun her and the pram around and pulled a knife from his jacket. Mr Wood said: 'He grabs Kulsuma and pushes her into a wall, stabbing her to the body. You will see that Kulsuma then goes to the ground only for the defendant to launch a ferocious and deadly attack. 'When the defendant had finished stabbing her, as a final act of sheer gratuitous violence, he kicks Kulsuma before moving away, but not before ensuring that he disposed of the knife.' The court heard Ms Akter suffered multiple stab wounds to her body and face including a wound to the neck which partly cut her windpipe and severed her left jugular vein. Mr Wood told jurors: 'The (prosecution) say this was cold-blooded, calculated, pre-meditated murder. Why would the defendant take a knife with him to meet his estranged wife unless he planned to use it?' By November 2023, Ms Akter and the defendant had been married for about 18 months. Mr Wood said: 'Generally, the relationship had been good, but there were already warning signs. There were previous incidents of his making threats to kill her and in July 2023, she was staying with family members because of his controlling behaviour.' Jurors heard on November 23 Masum became jealous over a 'completely innocuous' message she received from a male colleague, grabbing her face, slapping her and pulling her hair. 'In what you may think was a chilling prediction of what he was to do in April of the following year, he told Kulsuma, 'I am going to murder you, and the police will be taking me',' Mr Wood said. The next day after coming home from work, he went into their bedroom carrying a knife and said: 'Tell me what your relationship is with him, or I will kill you,' jurors heard. Mr Wood said Masum put the knife to Ms Akter's throat and 'she was so genuinely afraid that he would cut her throat, that she thought that the only way to stop him was to keep the baby on her lap'. A female family member who was concerned for Ms Akter's safety called the police, and Masum was arrested that night, jurors heard. In his interview at Ashton police station, he denied using any violence towards his wife and 'just asked who the guy was'. He also told officers he had no mental health conditions. The court heard Masum was charged with two offences of assault by beating and one offence of making a threat to kill. Jurors heard Ms Akter told a social worker from Oldham Council she 'believed that one day her husband would kill her', asking if her son could stay with her sister-in-law and brother 'when this day comes'. She was moved to accommodation in Bradford in January 2024. Mr Wood said in March, Ms Akter told her social worker Masum had contacted her on Snapchat, threatening that if she did not go back to him by April 1 he would kill her brothers. The court heard the refuge contacted the police and, the next day, Masum sent Ms Akter a Snapchat video of the Bradford Interchange Railway Station with a message saying he had 'come to her town'. He later sent her a photo of the refuge with a message saying: 'I know that you are living in this place. I knew from the first day you moved here. If I had any wish to kill you, I could have from the first day. You do not know what you have lost but one day you will understand. Nobody will love you like I do.' The court heard Ms Akter's social worker arranged for her to be rehoused and she was due to move on April 8, but in the meantime she heard from one of Masum's relatives that he was in Spain, and 'felt safe to leave the refuge' on the day she was killed. Masum denies murdering Ms Akter but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife. He also denies two charges of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of stalking. Masum, originally from the city of Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, studied for a masters in digital marketing at the University of Bedfordshire. He has shared travel vlogs of his 'adventures' and life in the UK on YouTube. The trial continues.
North Wales Chronicle
19 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Murder suspects remanded in custody accused of killing boy, 16
Zulkernain Ahmed, 20, and Armaan Ahmed, 26, were not asked to enter any pleas when they were remanded in custody at Sheffield Magistrates' Court accused of killing Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi. The teenager was walking along Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield last Wednesday when he was hit by an Audi car and suffered fatal injuries. Police said officers understood that the Audi had driven towards three electric bikes, colliding with one rider, an 18-year-old man who suffered serious but non life-threatening injuries. District Judge James Gould was told that the two defendants are both charged with the same offences, all alleged to have been committed on Wednesday June 4. The judge told Ahmed and Ahmed, who appeared alongside each other in the glass-fronted dock: 'The next hearing in your case in respect of all of these charges is the 10th of June at the crown court in Sheffield. 'You have no right to apply for bail at this stage and accordingly you are remanded in custody and you will appear tomorrow at the Crown Court.' During the three-minute hearing on Monday, the men, both of Locke Drive, Darnall, spoke only to give their names, dates of birth and address. Details of the attempted murder charges were not read to the defendants, who were both represented by the same defence lawyer. Relatives of Abdullah said last week that he had recently arrived in the UK from Yemen 'for a better future' and was devoted to his family. He arrived in the UK two or three months ago, and was enjoying learning English ahead of starting at college in September. Abdullah's relative Saleh Alsirkal said: 'His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything.' Mr Alsirkal added that Abdullah was a 'kind boy' who just wanted to look after his family, including his three sisters. Two people, a man aged 46 and a 45-year-old woman, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, have both been bailed pending further inquiries, police said.
