Deco-Pak boss jailed for worker manslaughter and firm fined £700,000

The owner of a garden supplies firm has been jailed and the company fined £700,000 after a worker was crushed to death by a robotic packing arm.

Andrew Tibbott, 48, died while working at Deco-Pak in Hipperholme, West Yorkshire, on 14 April 2017, after he was fatally injured by the machine.

The machine's safety features had been bypassed or disabled, a trial was told.

Company owner Michael Hall was jailed for five years after being convicted of gross negligence manslaughter.

Mr Tibbott, who had worked for the firm for less than six weeks, was crushed while attempting to clean a sensor on the machine.

Prosecutors said senior management at the firm were notified on numerous occasions about the bypassing of safety systems and the likely consequence of accidents and injury.

These features included safety fencing and a system which would automatically shut down the power if anyone stepped inside the production area.

The machinery, used for bagging aggregates, had systems bypassed or disabled "within days" of it being installed in 2015, prosecutors said.

Deco-Pak Ltd was convicted of corporate manslaughter in January 2022 following a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Company owner Hall, 64, of Hullen Edge Lane, Elland, was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in April following a retrial.

On Friday, at Leeds Crown Court, Hall was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, while Deco-Pak Ltd was fined £700,000 and ordered to pay £90,000 in court costs.

Company director Rodney Slater was acquitted of gross negligence manslaughter and of a health and safety breach.

Alex Johnson, specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Andrew Tibbott was killed by a powerful and dangerous piece of machinery in an accident that should never have happened. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Tibbott."

Lead investigator Det Ch Supt Nicola Bryar, from West Yorkshire Police, added: "No family should go through what Andrew's family did on that fateful evening in 2017.

"I do hope they can take some comfort from the sentences imposed today, and the fact that those responsible for Andrew's tragic death have been held accountable for their gross negligence and failures."

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