Companies fined £2.4m after chicken factory deaths

The families of two men who died while carrying out pest control work at a chicken factory said they did not feel "justice has been served".

The bodies of Neil Moon, 49, and Jonathan Collins, 34, died after concentrated nitrogen gas was released at Banham Poultry in Norfolk on 3 October 2018.

At Norwich Crown Court, Banham Poultry Ltd and Air Products PLC were fined a total of more than £2.4m after pleading guilty to offences under the Health And Safety At Work Act 1974 at the plant in Attleborough.

In a tribute, their families said: "The past seven and a half years have been filled with heartbreak, fear and unanswered questions."

Norfolk Police said the factory had recently introduced a system in May 2017 to pump waste nitrogen gas out of the site and into the atmosphere.

Following concerns, temporary modifications were made to the system on three occasions across a 13-month period.

On the day the men arrived, it found temporary ducting had slipped down the factory's roof and released concentrated nitrogen into a confined passageway.

The court heard that while the gas was supposed to be controlled safely, risks were not properly considered with no checks or monitoring.

In a joint tribute following a three-day sentencing hearing last week, the families of the men said their loss had left a "permanent void" in their lives.

"We must say honestly that we do not feel justice has been served. For us, true justice would be Jonathan and Neil still being alive," they said.

"If anything positive can come from this tragedy, we ask one thing. If you are responsible for staff or contractors, take that responsibility seriously.

"You have a duty of care. No family should ever have to endure what we have faced, and what we continue to face."

Banham Poultry Limited admitted two counts of failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £900.

The judge Mrs Justice Farbey said she would have imposed a substantial fine if the company had not been in liquidation.

After pleading guilty to one count of breaching health and safety regulations, Air Products PLC wwas fined £2,475,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £83,359.41.

Det Supt Stuart Chapman said the failures were "inexcusable and completely avoidable".

"Jonathan and Neil went to work that day and should have returned home. They have every right to expect that these companies would meet the standards required to keep them and others safe," he said.

"Instead, both companies breached that duty of care which was a significant cause of both Jonathan and Neil's deaths."

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