Midland worker dies after head is crushed at Coleshill plant
Jun 24 2010 by Fionnuala Bourke, Birmingham Mail
A WORKER who had been at a Midland brick manufacturers for only two weeks was killed when his head was crushed between concrete blocks and a metal platform.
Peter Clark, 57, died at Hanson Building Products Ltd’s distribution plant in Coleshill, on April 26, 2008.
Warwick Crown Court heard that the grandfather, from Bedworth, was working next to a conveyor that transferred groups of concrete blocks from a kiln to a packaging area when tragedy struck.
His job was to remove samples of blocks for quality checking.
And while he leaned forward to remove some blocks from the machine another worker changed the direction of the conveyor, crushing Mr Clark’s head between the concrete blocks on the 30-metre conveyor and the metal platform.
The operator of the conveyor could not see Mr Clarke because his view was obscured. A Health and Safety Executive investigation into the incident found that the company had only identified the risk of workers trapping their fingers between the blocks and the stairway.
Hanson Building Products Limited, whose headquarters is at Castle Hill, Maidenhead, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The company was fined £280,000 and ordered to pay costs of £29,204.
Mr Clarke’s widow, Barbara, said: “Pete’s death has devastated our family, it’s beyond belief.
“He was a much-loved husband, father and grandpa and our lives will never be the same without him.”
HSE inspector Peter Snelgrove said: “This tragic incident could have been prevented if Hanson Building Products had carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
“There were no safe systems of work for removing the blocks and the company failed to supervise Mr Clarke adequately.
“The area where he was working was well known as a danger zone by other workers, but he had been on site for less than two weeks and nobody had told him about the risks.
“Employers should understand that where failing standards in the workplace result in serious injury or death, HSE will prosecute.”
