Prosecutions

The Southampton scrap merchants pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and contravening Regulation 3(6) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 at Southampton Magistrates Court, the company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £34,373.80.

The victim was killed when he and his brother visited the scrap yard on 2 August 2007. They were examining a vehicle for its parts and entered the site by the open back gate while the grab claw crane operator was elsewhere.

The victim was inside the van when the crane operator came back to start work.  Despite his brother trying to tell the crane driver that the victim was in the van, the operator misunderstood and thought he was being asked to pick up the van.

As the crane picked up the vehicle the victim was in, he suffering major neck and shoulder injuries and was instantly crushed by the crane’s five-finger grab. He died at the scene.

At the time of the incident, there were no warning signs around and outside the site to indicate which areas were out of bounds to members of the public and there were no published site rules or formal systems of work.