Willand O&M Ltd and New Wave Marine Ltd were sentenced following an incident on 1 June 2020 at the Willand Biogas site, Hide Market Road, Cullompton, in Devon.

Carl Parsons, 34, was electrocuted and colleague Luke Madavan, AGE, was left with life-changing injuries

New Wave Marine had been contracted by Willand O&M to lift the lid of a biodigester and stir a crust blockage that had accumulated inside the tank. During this work, a cherry picker operated by New Wave Marine struck an overhead powerline. The electrical current passed through the metal basket, fatally electrocuting Carl Parsons and causing a serious electric shock to Luke Madavan.

The HSE’s investigation found that Willand O&M had been advised by their principal contractor and Western Power Distribution to relocate the overhead powerline. Doing so would have eliminated the risk of contact during both the build and foreseeable future maintenance. Willand O&M failed to act on this advice and put no adequate control measures in place, such as height restrictors on cherry pickers or restricted work areas. Supervision, monitoring and site induction were also found to be poor.

New Wave Marine’s risk assessment was found to be neither suitable nor sufficient. The company also lacked formal training provision and adequate supervision for the work being carried out.

Willand O&M Ltd of Cleave Farm, Station Road, Willand, Cullompton, Devon, pleaded guilty to an offence under Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 by virtue of Regulation 14, having failed to ensure that persons carrying out work at the site were not working on or near a live conductor without reasonable and suitable precautions in place to prevent injury. The company was fined £51,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £28,467.

New Wave Marine Ltd pleaded guilty to offences under Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £30,000 with prosecution costs of £8,000.

Described by his family as funny, loving, kind and a fantastic father, Carl Parsons was a loving husband, son, brother and uncle, well-loved by everyone who knew him. He left behind a wife and three children.

HSE Inspector Nicole Buchanan said: “Working underneath overhead powerlines is inherently unsafe and these risks should be eliminated wherever possible. There is a risk that workers operating equipment could either make direct contact with the electrical source or be exposed to electricity arcing over several metres and travelling through the basket. The electricity network will provide guidance and assist in moving lines or burying them underground to prevent incidents. Companies should always seek competent health and safety advice and ensure their staff are adequately trained.

“The death of Mr Carl Parsons and the injuries to Mr Madavan were entirely avoidable and I hope that this case will serve as a lesson to others who try to avoid costs by working near overhead powerlines. I express my deepest sympathy to those who witnessed the incident, to Carl’s family, his wife, and especially to his three children, and to Mr Madavan; and I thank them for their cooperation throughout the investigation.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Alan Hughes, HSE advocate Sam Jones, and paralegal Helen Jacobs.

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The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on 17 March 2025, at a car park in Wan Chai.

A worker, while walking in reverse with a loaded trolley down a vehicular ramp, lost his balance and fell backward, with the back of his head striking the floor. He was sent to hospital in an unconscious state and passed away nine days later.

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Lemitech Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Geelong County Court after earlier pleading guilty to a single charge of failing to ensure that a workplace was safe and without risks to health.

The court heard Lemitech had a conveyor system installed to transport chicken manure from underneath various cages inside a shed at the farm, including a horizontal conveyor belt that took the manure outside.

Workers would sometimes perform work or check the operation of the horizontal belt and adjust its tracking if required, by removing a guard that covered the tail pulley of the conveyor system.

In March 2023, 34-year-old Liam Harrington was performing works on or in connection with the horizontal belt when he became entangled in the rotating components of the unguarded tail pulley and died.

Lemitech admitted it was reasonably practicable to reduce the risk of serious injury or death by installing a fixed interlocked guard with a viewing window on the tail pully or interlocked in-running nip guards over the roller of the tail pulley, or a maintenance jog function to slow the conveyor when the existing guard was removed.

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Amongst the issues the Environmental Audit Committee’s new inquiry will examine will be how much energy and water data centres are likely to use, and how this could impact the UK Government’s net zero goals.

Data centres are regarded by ministers as being central to UK economic growth and were designated critical national infrastructure (CNI) in September 2024, offering them more legal protections. However, their electricity consumption is expected to quadruple by 2030, according to the National Energy System Operator, raising concerns about their sustainability.

In their new inquiry, MPs will explore how growing AI use might accelerate the need for data centres and whether planning authorities will take account of their impact on the environment. They will also consider how new technologies could minimise their environmental impact and what lessons the UK could learn from other countries.

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The victim became trapped after his right arm was drawn into the brush rollers of a Haith Root Veg Polishing Machine while he was carrying out his duties. The victim sustained life-changing injuries as a result of the incident.

The company pleaded guilty to Section 8(2)(a) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, as it relates to Section 8(1), contrary to Section 77(9)(a), in that it failed to manage and conduct work activities in such a way as to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare of an employee at work.

The company also pleaded guilty to Section 8(2)(e) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, as it relates to Section 8(1), contrary to Section 77(9)(a), in that it failed to provide systems of work that were planned, organised, performed, maintained and revised in such a way as to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare of its employees.

Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, Mark Cullen, said: “Employers must ensure that work activities, particularly those involving machinery with moving parts, are managed and overseen with robust safety measures in place. Properly planned and maintained systems of work are essential in preventing serious injuries. This case highlights the consequences when these fundamental protections are not in place.”

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On 23 October 2023, an employee of Sean Kelly Commercials Ltd sustained serious injuries after becoming trapped between the trailer bed of a four-axle beavertail lorry and its rear wheel, whilst investigating the source of an air leak.

The HSENI investigation identified that during the work activity, an airbag on the vehicle’s suspension system deployed, causing the trailer to drop. The trailer had not been adequately supported whilst the investigations were taking place beneath it.

Following the incident, an HSENI Inspector served a prohibition notice on the company. This notice prevented any further work from being undertaken underneath vehicles where there was a risk of entrapment without means of supporting the vehicle’s body.

Sean Kelly Commercials Limited were found guilty of breaching Article 4 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and fined £14,000.

Prosecutors in the PPS’s Fraud and Departmental Section worked closely with HSENI to build a robust prosecution case.

Speaking after the hearing, HSENI Principal Inspector Justine McIntyre said: “This incident could have been avoided. The employee suffered serious injuries, but the outcome really could have been much worse.

“When working with vehicles fitted with air suspension, vehicle ground clearance can suddenly and unexpectedly change with a drop in air pressure. This creates trapping and crushing risks, especially for those working beneath them. It is essential that these tasks are adequately risk assessed, a safe system of work is in place and suitable control measures are used.

“Such controls range from carrying out the work from a vehicle inspection pit to the use of suitable props including axle stands. Guidance is readily available to employers.”

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These proceedings arose from an incident on 22 May 2021, when a worker suffered serious injuries after tripping on a skylight and falling about 10 metres while cleaning a roof above a retail store.

Pendle Ham and Bacon Pty Ltd plead guilty to two offences pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, one for failing to comply with its duty to workers under section 19(1), and one for failing to comply with its duty to ensure a workplace is without risk to health and safety under section 20(2) of the Act.

PHBC LH Pty Ltd plead guilty to an offence pursuant to section 32 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 for failing to comply with its duty to workers under section 19(1) of the Act.

Both companies have the right to appeal against their sentences.

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The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Adonel Concrete Corp., operating as Adonel Block Manufacturing Corp., with nine serious violations for inadequate machine guarding, and for failing to ensure lockout/tagout procedures were used, electrical panels were marked and the locking mechanism operational, implement an effective hearing conservation programme for workers exposed to high-noise levels, and incorporate silica hazards into the company’s hazard communication programme.

OSHA assessed $58,604 in penalties.

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Reddem Ltd, based at Queens Road, Wooler, appeared at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court where it pleaded guilty to one offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 of operating an illegal waste site and another under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 of keeping or treating waste in a way likely to cause pollution to the environment or harm to human health by storing waste containing asbestos in open containers.

It was fined £4,000, ordered to pay costs of £4,000 and a victim surcharge of £1,600.

The court heard that the demolition company was running an illegal waste site at The Old Gas Works Yard, at South Road in Wooler, bringing construction and demolition waste containing asbestos to the site before onward transportation for disposal.

Asbestos is a controlled waste and must be stored double-bagged in sealed containers. Skips used to store asbestos must also be kept enclosed, and it must not be transferred between different skips or containers.

The company had no environmental permit, which is required to carry out most waste activity.

The court was told that the issue was first reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by a local resident who had regularly seen waste with the appearance of asbestos being brought onto the site and bulked into large containers.

In June 2023, an HSE Inspector attended the site to gather evidence. They spoke to a director of the company, who confirmed that asbestos cement was being moved around the site.

On 23 June 2023 the inspector served a prohibition notice to the company relating to asbestos disturbance and explained the activity must stop.

The same day, Environment Agency officers attended and saw nine skips which appeared to contain asbestos.

They issued a letter telling the company to stop the activity, and a formal notice requiring the land not to be disturbed until an inspection had taken place.

A joint site inspection took place on 30 June 2023 involving the HSE and Environment Agency, during which samples of waste were taken for analysis from six skips. It was later confirmed that all of the samples contained asbestos.

The Environment Agency’s investigation established that more than 40 tonnes of material containing asbestos was later removed to a properly permitted site for disposal.

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A nationwide investigation by the Environment Agency uncovered a network of 16 illegal dumping sites, stretching from the northeast to the south coast. Farms, a historic manor house, and a nature reserve were among the locations trashed.

Varun Datta, 36, of Little Chester Street, London, must now pay £1.1 million, reflecting the financial benefit from his crimes, plus £100,000 in compensation and £200,000 in prosecution costs. He was also slapped with a prison sentence of four months suspended for 18 months, as well as 30 days’ rehabilitation and 200 hours of unpaid work.

The case, which concluded in Birmingham Crown Court, involved the prosecution of two other men, with one being fined and the other facing a suspended sentence, rehabilitation, and unpaid work. Warrants for the arrest of two other men are still active.

In 2018, the Environment Agency seized £131,520 in cash from Datta’s home address. In 2022, a restraint order was applied to two bank accounts ensuring that any future confiscation order could be paid. After pleading not guilty in 2023, Datta subsequently pleaded guilty in June 2025 to knowingly causing controlled waste to be deposited at sixteen sites. The total weight of the waste was around 4,275 tonnes, roughly the weight of 600 African elephants.

The offences were branded “reckless” by Judge Paul Farrar KC. No environmental permit or valid exemption was in place at any of the sites, which were spread across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Lancashire, Kent, Surrey, Rutland and Middlesborough.

The court heard that Datta became a registered waste broker through his company, Atkins Recycling Ltd, in 2015. He acted recklessly by claiming the waste the company handled was being sent to a legal site at Kiveton Park, near Sheffield. However, the loads were actually diverted to unlicensed dumps around the country. It is alleged that an associate, Sandeep Golechha, 55, of Wheatley Close, London, helped to falsify weighbridge documents to cover up the illegal acts.

The £100,000 in compensation to be paid by Datta relates to the dumping at the former Sulzer Dowding Mills Factory site in Middlesbrough, as well as the Middleton Nature Reserve in Lancashire. Middlesborough Council will receive £70,000 towards the cost of the clean-up, while £30,000 will be awarded to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust for the future management of the Middleton Nature Reserve.

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