A global metal recycling company has been in court and fined £150,000 after one of its workers was killed by a 33-tonne metal barge, which collapsed on top of him.
Father of two William Ward, who was 56 years old and lived in Handsworth, Sheffield, suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of the incident, which happened at European Metal Recycling Ltd (EMR)’s Kingsbury depot in Warwickshire in October 2011.
The company, which has offices across Europe, Asia and the Americas, was sentenced in December after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation into what happened, identifying a number of serious flaws in the way that barges were being dismantled at the site.
Warwickshire Crown Court heard how Mr Ward was carrying out his work alongside a number of colleagues and was cutting and dismantling a couple of large steel barges with oxy-acetylene torches. When he had finishing cutting through the outer layer of the barge’s hull, however and moved around to the inside of the structure which, by now, was unsupported, the side of the structure collapsed in on him. He died at the scene.
The court concluded that EMR had neither sufficiently protected its workers nor ensured that burning contractors working on the site were competent in the tasks they were being asked to do. The company was fined £150,000 alongside costs of £80,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
HSE inspector Mark Austin said after the hearing: “European Metal Recycling Ltd used Mr Ward to work for them as a burner, and were responsible for his safety and for ensuring the barges were being dismantled in a safe manner.
“Our investigation found they all neglected that responsibility and Mr Ward has paid the ultimate price with his life – a terrible and senseless loss that was completely preventable had the work been better planned and managed.”
Mrs Jayne Ward, Mr Ward’s wife of 25 years, also spoke after the hearing. She said: “On hearing of Billy’s death, my world was turned upside down. In those first days after his death, I was in a state of shock.
“The news was so sudden and one of the worst things was not to have been able to say goodbye.
“Other people can go home to talk to their partners and parents. I have no partner now and the boys have no father.
“I think of all the things that Billy will never see – the boys getting married, having children, children which would have been our grandchildren.
“As a couple, you build up a picture of your life together going forward – seeing the boys settled, grandchildren, retiring and spending time together. All this has been taken from him, from me and from the boys.”