Custodial sentence for construction company owner

HSE press release E006:06 - 20 January 2006

Construction company proprietor Wayne Davies of A & E Buildings, based in Knighton, Powys, was today sentenced to an 18-month custodial sentence following a prosecution brought by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The case heard at Hereford Crown Court, followed a joint investigation between the police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the death of Mark Jones.

Commenting on the case, Joy Jones, HSE principal inspector said:

"This case is a reminder to all those involved in the construction industry of their legal obligations to manage health and safety. The verdict shows that Wayne Davies failed in both his duty to ensure the safety of his employees and in his responsibility to provide safe and suitable means of working at height. All contractors should ensure that all work at height is planned, supervised and carried out in a safe way. Workers involved should be trained and competent, any equipment being used should be suitable for the task and appropriately inspected."

On Saturday 28 February 2004, Mr Jones, aged 40, from Ludlow, Adam Waygood, aged 21 from Leominster and Jonathan Joy, aged 23, also from Leominster were involved in a project managed by Mr Davies to construct a steel framed barn on a farm in Kinver, near Stourbridge, South Staffordshire.

Whilst installing the barn roof, Mr Jones and Mr Waygood worked at roof height from a 'home-made' basket balanced on the forks of a telehandler. Both the basket and telehandler belonged to Mr Davies.

The telehandler tipped over, throwing both men approximately 25 feet to the ground. Mr Waygood received serious injuries and Mr Jones sustained fatal injuries from which he died.

At an earlier hearing Mr Davies was found guilty of a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 Section 2(1) for failing to ensure the safety of employees in the time before the incident.

In addition he also pleaded guilty a single charge of providing a telehandler and equipment that was not properly maintained, breaching Regulation 5 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Notes to editors

1. Mr Davies was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for manslaughter, no separate penalties were awarded for the health and safety breaches and no award was made for costs.

2. The police investigate serious criminal offences (other than health and safety offences) such as manslaughter, and only the CPS can decide whether such a case will proceed. Health and safety offences are usually prosecuted by HSE, the local authority or other enforcing authority in accordance with current enforcement policy. The CPS may also prosecute health and safety offences, but usually does so only when prosecuting other serious criminal offences, such as manslaughter, arising out of the same circumstances. The arrangements for liaison between the police, CPS and HSE are set out in a 'Work-related deaths: A protocol for liaison' which is available from HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wrdp1.pdf

More information is available from the CPS website: www.cps.gov.uk

3. Section 2 of HSWA states "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees."

4. The Work at Height Regulations 2005, came into force on 6 April 2005, and apply to all work at height. Details of the Regulations can be viewed at http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/

5. In 2004/5, there were 72 fatal injuries to construction workers, an increase of 1 from 2003/4. The single most common cause of fatality in the construction industry is falling from a height.

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