Company fined £450,000 after electrocution death

A company has been fined £450,000 after a guttering engineer died after being electrocuted by an overhead power line whilst at work.

Andrew Claridge, from Minster Lovell, died at a property in Longworth, near Abingdon, on 14 November 2024, Thames Valley Police (TVP) said.

Cotswold Rainwater Services Ltd, of Northfield Farm Lane, Witney, previously pleaded guilty to one count of corporate manslaughter in connection with the death.

During a sentencing hearing at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, the firm was fined £450,000 and ordered to pay £15,735 in costs as well as a £2,000 victim surcharge.

A post-mortem examination had previously concluded that the 34-year-old guttering engineer died as a result of electrocution.

The sentencing of Cotswold Rainwater Services comes after a joint investigation conducted by TVP and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Police said the investigation had found Claridge's death was "entirely preventable".

It said another Cotswold Rainwater Services employee had suffered minor injuries after being electrocuted by overhead power lines at the same location in Longworth in 2020.

Despite this, the force said, the company "failed to carry out a risk assessment before sending employees to the site in 2024" and "did not identify the risks posed by overhead power lines".

This, HSE inspector Simran Sapal said, "exposed employees to a foreseeable risk of death or serious injury".

Det Sgt Nathan Adby, from TVP, said the investigation had been "long and complex", and thanked Claridge's family for their "patience, dignity and support".

"Andrew's death was entirely preventable and it is hoped that the outcome of this case will help serve as a stark reminder and reinforce learning across the industry that health and safety compliance is not optional, but a mandatory requirement for all employers," Adby said.

Prosecutor Eran Cutliffe, from the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime Division, said the company had "failed" in its "fundamental responsibility" to keep its employees safe.

"The evidence demonstrated serious failures in the way the company managed the safety of its employees, exposing Andrew to a risk that should have been identified and addressed," he added.