P&R Plant Hire (Lincolnshire) Limited and D Brown (Building Contractors) Limited were fined following the death of Josh Disdel, while managers Brent Woods and Darrell Tripp were handed suspended prison sentences.

In July 2018 Josh Disdel, and another worker, both employed by P&R Plant Hire (Lincolnshire) Limited, had been tasked with clearing debris from sewer access chambers at a site at White Bridges, Boston.

While work was taking place, Mr Disdel’s colleague was asked if he could move the works van to allow another vehicle to pass. But he was unaware that Mr Disdel was lying on the road with his head and torso in a manhole, directly in front of the van.

As the vehicle moved forwards one of the wheels entered the top of the manhole, crushing Mr Disdel.  He was taken to hospital but later died of his injuries.

An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that neither the principal contractor, D Brown (Building Contractors), nor the groundworks subcontractor, P&R Plant Hire, had ensured that the work was planned in such a way to ensure that workers were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

Brent Woods, a manager within P&R Plant Hire for approximately 10 years, sent employees to carry out the task without a risk assessment or method statement in place despite having previously produced such information in the past.

In addition, workers had not been trained to work in a road, had not been provided with any equipment to ensure the work was carried out safely and had not been provided with any instruction on any safety measures to be used at site.

Lincoln Crown Court also heard that Darrell Tripp, a site manager for D Brown (Building Contractors) for four years and having worked in the construction industry for 40 years, did not carry out a site induction for Josh Disdel and failed to carry out suitable checks to ensure the workers had the relevant training. Tripp also failed to ensure there was a safe system of work in place of whether there were adequate control measures.

D Brown (Building Contractors) Limited of Seas End Road, Spalding, was found guilty of contravening Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  It was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,765.92

P&R Plant Hire (Lincolnshire) Limited of Station Road, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to contravening Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  The company was fined £24,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,264.87.

Brent Woods of North Parade, Holbeach, Spalding was found guilty of contravening Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  He was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and pay costs of £1,200.

Darrell Tripp of Broadgate Lane, Deeping St James, Peterborough was found guilty of contravening Section 7(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act.  He was sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to pay costs of £1,200.

HSE inspector Mark Welsh said after the hearing: “This was a completely avoidable incident, caused by a multitude of failures by both companies and both of the individuals who appeared in court.

“All of the defendants failed to adequately plan the work to identify the risks, failed to ensure that the individuals carrying out the work were trained and competent to do so, and failed to ensure a safe system of work was in place and followed.

“The result was the tragic loss of life of a young man who was looking forward to a bright future.”

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