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Nechells wall collapse directors appear in court

Ensco 10101 Limited has pleaded not guilty to charges of health and safety breaches following the deaths of five men at a recycling site in Birmingham in 2016.

The concrete wall of a bay storing hundreds of tonnes of metal ingots was involved in the accident in Birmingham in 2016

Ousmane Kaba Diaby, Saibo Sumbundu Sillah, Bangally Tunkara Dukuray, Almamo Kinteh Jammeh and Mahamadou Jagana Jagana were fatally crushed by a collapsing wall at Hawkeswood Metal Recycling’s site in Nechells on 7 July 2016 (see letsrecycle.com story). A further man sustained serious injuries.

The concrete wall of a bay storing hundreds of tonnes of metal ingots was involved in the accident in Birmingham in 2016

Appearing before Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 14 May, Ensco 10101 Limited, previously known as Shredmet Ltd, and its predecessor Hawkeswood Metal Recycling Limited pleaded not guilty to charges under Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The companies’ directors, Graham Woodhouse and Wayne Hawkeswood, also pleaded not guilty to charges under Section 37 of the same Act.

The prosecution was brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a joint investigation by the independent safety regulator and West Midlands Police.

An HSE spokesperson told letsrecycle.com: “HSE acknowledges the proceedings at court, and will not make a further comment as proceedings are ongoing.”

The defendants are next due to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 11 June.

Inquest

In November 2018 a jury inquest recorded verdicts of accidental death.

The jury found that the workers were killed after the “foreseeable risk” of a wall collapse in the area they were working was not identified (see letsrecycle.com story).

The 11-strong panel found the risk was not identified before the accident and it “caused or contributed to” the deaths of the workers, who were all from Senegal and the Gambia.

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