A man had been wished a happy 65th birthday by his grandchildren just hours before he was crushed to death by a security barrier at work.
Tommy Manns was driving a van for the Henry Westons cider manufacturer when the end of a barrier speared through the windscreen and fatally injured him.
The manager at Bounds Farm was leaving the site in Much Marcle, Ledbury, Herefordshire, when the horror smash happened on September 28, 2020.
Two of Tommy’s young grandchildren, aged four and six, had called him to send him their best wishes earlier that same day.
‘Tommy loved his grandchildren so much,’ said his wife Rose Manns.
‘He spoke to the two grandkids on the day of his death. They rang to sing happy birthday to him in the morning.
‘He never got the chance to open his birthday cards.’
Now, H Weston and Sons Limited have been fined £1.4million and ordered to pay more than £26,750 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety regulations.
The ruling was made at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday after the company had been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Tommy of Dymock, Gloucestershire, who had two children and three grandchildren, had started working at the farm in 2008.
A HSE investigation into the incident found H Weston and Sons had installed the barrier a month earlier, and failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
The company also failed to implement a safe system of work to ensure the barrier could be secured safely when open and closed.
H Weston and Sons has been fined £1.4m after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety regulations (Picture: SWNS)
Tommy’s wife Rose said she is ‘still in shock’ three years on from her husband’s death, which denied them of so many more memories together.
‘We had put a deposit down on a motorhome,’ she said.
‘My son had to ring the company a couple of days after Tommy died to cancel the order.
‘Tommy has left a great legacy. He was so loved, he was my rock, my soulmate.’
Oliver Hunter, Tommy’s stepson, said: ‘As a parent there are many memorable moments you want to keep hold of.
‘However, trying to explain to my four-year-old son (now seven) and six-year-old daughter (now nine) that their grampy Tom had died on his birthday and that he is no longer with us, is one I wish I could forget.
‘Both of our children were outgoing, happy little people with a love of life, but since Tommy’s death their behaviours have changed, they are more weary of life, can be more angry and upset over various things.
‘They live with a constant fear that their loved ones maybe taken away from them which consequently means they are both struggling daily with separation anxiety on different levels.’
Rose added: ‘I’ve never been an emotional person, but since the accident I am nervous and reliving the accident all the time.
‘In the beginning I couldn’t even drive because my husband was driving at the time of his accident and I couldn’t face driving again for a long time.
‘I’ve always been a people’s person and now I have no confidence. People stop and ask me how I feel and how I am.
‘I don’t feel confident to talk to people about what happened and people don’t know what to say to me.’
HSE inspector Sara Lumley: ‘This is a sad and devastating case that is made all the more tragic as the incident took place on Tommy’s birthday. It was also his day off.
‘Rosemary and Oliver have made clear the impact that Tommy’s passing has had and our thoughts remain with them and their family.
‘Horizontal barriers can be dangerous – but deaths are extremely preventable.
‘The guidance for those operating barriers like this at car parks is clear and it’s vital to make sure the barriers are adequately secured at all times whether open or shut.’
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