Company fined £1.4m after van driver killed

A company has been fined £1.4 million after a driver was fatally injured when leaving its car park.

Tommy Manns, from Dymock, Gloucestershire, was driving for H Weston and Sons, the manufacturer of Henry Westons Cider, when he was killed by the end of a security barrier on September 28, 2020, the day of his 65th birthday.

The van was being driven out of the firm’s site at Bounds Farm, March Marcle, Ledbury, when the end of a security barrier crashed through the vehicle’s windshield and fatally crushed the driver.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found H Weston and Sons had installed the barrier a month earlier and failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.

The company also failed to implement a safe system of work to ensure the barrier could be secured safely when open and closed.

The driver’s wife, Rose Manns, said: “I am still in shock following the death of my husband.

“I’ve never been an emotional person, but since the accident I am nervous and reliving the accident all the time.”

Manns, who had two children as well as three grandchildren, was a farm manager at H Weston and Sons Limited and had started working at the company in 2008.

“Tommy loved his grandchildren so much,” his wife continued. “He spoke to the two grandkids who were four and six on the day of his death.

“They rang to sing happy birthday to him in the morning. He never got the chance to open his birthday cards.

“Tommy has left a great legacy. He was so loved, he was my rock, my soulmate.”

Oliver Hunter, his stepson, added: “As a parent there are many memorable moments you want to keep hold of, however trying to explain to my four-year-old son (now seven) and six-year-old daughter (now nine) that their Grampy Tom had died on his birthday and that he is no longer with us, is one I wish I could forget.”

H Weston and Sons, of Much Marcle, Ledbury, Herefordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £1.4m and ordered to pay £26,756.50 in costs at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on November 30, 2023.

HSE inspector Sara Lumley: “This is a sad and devastating case that is made all the more tragic as the incident took place on Tommy’s birthday. It was also his day off.

“Rosemary and Oliver have made clear the impact that Tommy’s passing has had, and our thoughts remain with them and their family.

“Horizontal barriers can be dangerous – but deaths are extremely preventable.

“The guidance for those operating barriers like this at car parks is clear and it’s vital to make sure the barriers are adequately secured at all times whether open or shut.”

HSE guidance can be found at: Advice on horizontal swing car park barriers.