Mansfield man guilty in connection with deaths of men who drowned in pig feed

Stewart Brown, aged 69, , of Fernwood Close, Forest Town, was found guilty of failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others, who might be affected by his acts or omissions at work.

He was cleared of two counts of gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of 19-year-old Nathan Walker and Gavin Rawson, 35.

The men died in December 2016 following the incident at Greenfeeds, Normanton, Leicestershire.

The company produced bio-fuel and pig feed from recycled products which were then delivered using road haulage tankers.

The court heard that on the afternoon of December 22, 2016, Mr Walker, a member of yard staff at the company, climbed into a tanker to clean it after it was found the tanker could not be fully emptied of the pig feed.

Tragically, he got into difficulties and when he shouted for help, Mr Rawson dashed over to help.

He selflessly climbed inside the tanker and tried to haul Mr Walker to safety but both men became overcome by the fumes and collapsed.

They were found face down in the liquid after a saw was used to cut holes in the side of the tanker. They were pulled out and resuscitation was attempted but both men sadly died at the scene.

A post-mortem examination concluded they died as a result of drowning in the animal feed.

An investigation by Leicestershire Police and the Health and Safety Executive found Greenfeeds had no adequate health and safety procedures in place to govern the cleaning of their tankers.

A method of cleaning the tankers which involved an employee entering the tanker with a power washer while another acted as a spotter and held the hose pipe connected to the power wash had been allowed to develop at the company.

The cleaning of the tanker on December 22, 2016 had been carried out at the direction of Gillian Leivers, who owned the company with her husband Ian, and Brown, the transport manager in charge of the yard.

Leicestershire Police said the cleaning method had no proper risk assessment, there was no method statement for entering the tanker or for getting someone out and no provision of breathing apparatus or personal protection equipment.

Enquiries found staff had raised concerns regarding the dangerousness of the cleaning method, but they had been ignored.

Following a six-week trial at Leicester Crown Court, Greenfeeds, which admitted failing to ensure the health and safety of its employers, was found guilty of two counts of corporate manslaughter.

Ian Leivers, 59, and 60-year-old Gillian, of Fosse Road, Newark, were both found guilty, as directors of Greenfeeds, of a Health and Safety breach in that the company’s offence was attributable to their neglect.

Brown and the Leivers were released on bail for sentencing next week.

Detective Constable Kirsty Iqbal, officer said: “Mr Walker and Mr Rawson were two young men with their lives ahead of them. Both went to work at Greenfeeds where they should have been looked after and their safety should have been paramount.

“Instead investigations showed the system used to clean the tankers was so dangerous, fatal consequences were virtually certain.”