High Court Judge Mr Justice Morland warned the "extreme dangers" of modifying farm equipment would "not be tolerated" after a farm contractor was jailed for manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court today (Friday 19 December).
Sentencing Peter Pell, 62, of Hundle House Lane, New York, Lincolnshire, to a year’s imprisonment, the judge said it sent a signal "to those in the agricultural industry who are using potentially dangerous equipment that modifications with regard to safety cannot be tolerated because of the extreme danger to employees".
Pell pleaded guilty to manslaughter after employee Shaun Cooper, 27, of Skegness, was killed as he cleaned chicken sheds at Windy Ridge Farm, Wysall, Nottinghamshire on 13 September 2001. Two charges under section 2 and section 8 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 were left to lie on file, and Pell was ordered to pay #5000 costs.
The court heard that Pell had removed every safety measure on the skid steer vehicle on which Cooper was found crushed as soon he bought it in 1994. Cooper, a father of three who was to have been married a few days later, had received no training on using the vehicle.
Pell had also been fined #3000 for health and safety offences in October 1996 after an employee was electrocuted when his tipper truck came into contact with overhead power lines.
The judge said: "In the agricultural industry modifications to potentially highly dangerous pieces of equipment were made by employers and others and often as in your case tragedy didn’t occur sometimes for years. This was a case of a flagrant disregard for the safety of your employees.
"You should have learnt your lesson as long ago as 24th August 1995 when an employee of yours tragically met his death through electrocution.
"The necessity of passing an immediate custodial sentence is to send a message to all in the agricultural industry that safety regulations and safety equipment applied and fixed to equipment and machinery should not be modified or removed so as to lessen the safety of the equipment and give rise to the potentiality of danger to employees."
Health and Safety Executive investigating inspector David Hortop
said:
This sad case was about as bad as it can get. HSE has worked closely with manufacturers of these vehicles to ensure they include safety cages, cut-off systems and other features, and Pell removed all of these as soon as he bought the vehicle so that it could be used in low-roofed chicken sheds, despite there being other vehicles better suited to the job.
"Farming is one of the most hazardous industries and everyone in it should take safety seriously - not just in terms of equipment but in terms of training and systems of work.
"No court sentence will bring back the man who died in this case, and HSE will always do whatever it can to try to prevent injuries and ill health to workers. But where the law is broken, we will prosecute those responsible whenever we can."
