Prison sentence for directors after wall collapse kills five

Two company directors have been jailed and given combined fines of £1.6m after a wall collapsed killing five men.

Ousmane Kaba Diaby, Saibo Sumbundu Sillah, Bangally Tunkara Dukuray, Almamo Kinteh Jammeh and Mahamadou Jagana Jagana were all killed when a 45-tonne wall collapsed on them.

The men were agency workers on the site occupied by Hawkeswood Metal Recycling Ltd and Shredmet Ltd (now trading as Ensco 10101 Ltd), in the Nechells area of Birmingham.

Wayne Anthony Hawkeswood and Graham John Woodhouse were found guilty on multiple counts after a five-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court in November last year. On Monday 15 May the same court handed them nine-month custodial sentences.

The five men were part of a group of eight agency workers brought to the site on 7 July 2016. At around 8am, seven of them began clearing the bay of swarf (metal filings) to make way for more scrap metal.

A nearly 12ft high Vee block wall was built on site, made up of 30 concrete blocks. Each of the blocks was the size of a domestic fridge-freezer and weighed the same as a large family car. The blocks are designed to slot together.

Fifteen minutes after starting work, the wall collapsed on the five men, killing them instantly. A sixth man suffered serious leg injuries, while another was fortunate enough to have stepped outside the bay just before the wall came down. The eighth member of the team was not in the bay at all as he had gone to another part of the site to retrieve brooms.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the wall had previously been taken down then reassembled. The adjoining bay was full of around 263 tonnes of scrap metal briquettes – each roughly the size of a large tin of vegetables. The combined weight of the machine-pressed metal briquettes was the equivalent of six fully-loaded HGVs.

Following the incident, the defendants appointed structural engineers who carried out an assessment. The result was a reduction in wall heights and bays being clearly marked with maximum fill lines.

Both directors were found guilty of four charges each – failing to discharge the duty to which they were subject by virtue of section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Hawkeswood Metal Recycling Ltd and Ensco 10101 Ltd (known at the time as Shredmet) were also found guilty of the two identical counts, bringing the total number of convictions to 12.

Hawkeswood Metal Recycling was fined £1m while Ensco 10101 must pay £600,000. The judge also ordered £775,000 to be paid in prosecution costs.

Speaking after the sentencing, HSE principal inspector, Amy Kalay, said: “I hope the families and friends of the men who died find some comfort in today’s sentencing.

“The investigation into this incident was long and complex. Five men lost their lives in the most appalling of circumstances. Their deaths should not have happened. They went to work to earn a wage; that cost them their lives.

“These five men were placed into a working environment that was fundamentally unsafe. The failings of the companies and individuals brought to justice today were responsible for this tragedy.

“Health and safety regulations save lives. We will always take action against those who fail to protect their workers.”