Companies fined over 'wholly avoidable' deaths

Two companies have been fined a combined total of more than £150,000 following the "wholly avoidable" deaths of two workers.

Daron Pickstock, 43, and Lee Horton, 58, were killed when an industrial shelving unit collapsed as it was being tested at Castefields Industrial Estate in Bingley on 29 October 2020.

Space Productiv Ltd, of which Horton was the managing director, and Pickstock's employer Collins Site Services pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to breaching health and safety law.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Mark Slater said the men had been exposed to "an unacceptable level of risk" due to "inadequate planning and unsafe systems of work", branding it a "wholly avoidable incident".

According to the HSE, the shelves - or racking system - were being loaded with test weights, some of which weighed up to two tonnes, when the structure began to collapse.

Horton, from Ilkley, and Pickstock, from Chorley, had been working from a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) next to the structure as it was being loaded.

As the structure collapsed, it struck the MEWP, causing it to overturn with both men inside. They sustained fatal injuries.

An HSE investigation found both companies had failed to adequately assess the risks arising from the work being undertaken and failed to put in place a safe system of work to ensure the health and safety of those involved.

"Workers were positioned within the collapse zone of the racking during testing, placing them at serious risk should the structure fail," a spokesperson said.

Paying tribute to her father, a keen cyclist, Horton's daughter Emma said: "Lee was more than just a father to Josh and I - he was our best friend, therapist, career advisor and confidant.

"We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a special and unique bond with him, but that only makes the void he's left behind feel all the more immense."

Pickstock's son Jack said:"My future children do not get the chance to have a grandfather.

"I feel heartbroken for them that the circumstances surrounding my dad's death happened at work and could very possibly have been avoided."

Space Productiv pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £48,750 for each offence and ordered to pay £17,377 in costs.

Collins Site Services pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £10,292 in costs.

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