The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a scrap yard after a visitor to the site was crushed to death when the claw of a crane picked up a van he was inspecting for spare parts.

In August 2007, 24-year-old Barry Collins from Millbrook in Southampton was killed when he and his brother, Joey Collins, visited the site run by metal recyclers James Huntley & Sons Ltd in Sholing, Southampton.

Mr Collins and his brother had entered the site by the open back gate while the grab claw crane operator was elsewhere. The grab claw crane was used to move scrap around the site. 

Barry Collins was inside the van examining it for its parts when the crane operator came back to start work. His brother tried to tell the crane driver that Mr Collins was in the van, but the operator misunderstood and thought he was being asked to pick up the van.  

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

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

On 28 October, 2009 at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, James Huntley & Sons Ltd 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.

On Friday (27/11/09) at Southampton Crown Court, the company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of £34,373.80.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Roger Upfold said:

‘This was a truly tragic miscommunication that led to a man’s death – had simple measures been in place to control site access and let members of the public know where they should and shouldn’t go, this awful incident would probably never have happened.

‘Recycling sites are dangerous work environments,’ added Mr Upfold.

‘As such, warning notices, communication of site rules, and the use of high visibility clothing, should all be used to set clear expectations for the behaviour of visitors.’

© 5r1 Limited 2009