15-07-2025
Textile company fined after director killed by reversing lorry in Rochdale
A textile manufacturer has been fined £220,000 after one of its directors was killed by a reversing lorry.
Daniel Ames was a director of The British Millerain Company Limited and had offered to stay behind at the company warehouse in Rochdale to wait for the return of the vehicle on 22 June 2023.
When the truck arrived at around 5.30pm Mr Ames spoke to the driver and confirmed he would act as banksman to help the vehicle reverse into the warehouse.
During the manoeuvre, the driver lost sight of Mr Ames and when he got out to check, he found him trapped between the vehicle and some steel storage racks in the warehouse.
The driver called paramedics, but Mr Ames died in hospital from his injuries.
Speaking after the company was fined, Mr Ames' family said the outcome left them with "mixed emotions".
'Daniel went to work and never came home again, and we have a massive hole in our lives that will never be filled,' they said in a statement.
'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.
'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 Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who carried out an investigation into what happened.
That identified a number of failings exposing employees to various risks, including having no safe system in place for reversing HGVs.
Employees confirmed they had been doing the task for several years but had never received any training.
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 Limited, of Buckley Road, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to breaching section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company was fined £220,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,634 at Manchester Magistrates Court on 10 July 2025.
HSE inspector Jane Carroll said: 'This is a tragic case.
"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.
