Builders merchant fined £2m after employee crushed to death

One of the country’s largest builders merchants has been fined more than £2m after one of its workers was crushed to death by a 3 tonne pallet of timber.

Paul Coulson, 56, was working at Herringswell Sawmills, in Bury St Edmonds, which was operated by Huws Gray Ltd, when the incident happened on 22 May 2024.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that he died after a colleague started a conveyor not realising he was inside it.

The labourer had been tasked with removing plastic packaging from pallets of timber before they could be processed at the mill.

“He had climbed within the framework of the conveyor to access some of the packaging. However, another operative, who could not see Mr Coulson from his location, started the conveyor,” the HSE said.

“This resulted in the pack of timber moving forwards and colliding with him. The operative, who could see that the pack of timber was not moving along the conveyor as it should, reversed it before changing its direction.

“This resulted in the pack of timber moving forwards again – colliding with Mr Coulson for a second time. The crush injuries sustained were so significant that he died at the scene.”

The HSE said the company had previously identified that employees were accessing a danger zone within the conveyor and it had taken steps to place signage up asking employees not to do so.

However, CCTV analysis revealed that between 14 April and 23 May 2024, operatives entered within the framework of the conveyor on 19 different occasions, the HSE said.

“Although the company had placed stickers on the conveyor in a bid to tackle the working practice, no further action was taken to prevent access until after the tragedy,” the HSE said.

The firm has now introduced new measures, including placing guarding on the conveyor to prevent access, unwrapping pallets prior to them being placed on the conveyor and more CCTV to enable all angles to be seen by those operating it.

According to the HSE, Huws Gray Ltd, of Llangefni, Anglesey, Wales, pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on 26 March to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 Section 2(1) and was fined £2.2m and ordered to pay £9,929 costs.

HSE inspector Joanne Williams described the incident as a “staggering failure”.

“All companies, regardless of their size, must  follow the hierarchy of control for guarding dangerous parts within work equipment,” she said.

“Our investigation revealed that in this case, Huws Gray Ltd chose to control a serious risk through instruction alone – instead of putting proper safeguarding measures in place

“This meant employees were able to access a danger area, with tragic consequences.

“Had Huws Gray Ltd taken robust action when it became aware of the problem, Paul Coulson would be alive today.”