Skip to content

Bosley Mill: Manslaughter charges dropped over mill blast

BBC William Barks, Derek Moore, Jason Shingler, Dorothy BaileyBBC
Derek William Barks, Derek Moore, Jason Shingler and Dorothy Bailey died in the 2015 explosion

Manslaughter charges have been dropped against the owner of a wood mill where four people died in a blast.

George Boden was a director of Wood Treatment Ltd in 2015 when the explosion happened at Wood Flour Mills in Bosley, Cheshire.

Corporate manslaughter charges against the firm have also been dropped.

At a special Nightingale Court at Chester Town Hall, Mr Boden pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence.

The exact cause of the fatal blast is not known, but it was thought to have involved an explosion of wood dust, the trial heard.

Bosley aftermath
A scene of devastation was left behind at Bosley Mill

Workers who died in the explosion were Derek Moore, of Goldenhill, Stoke-on-Trent; Dorothy Bailey, from Bosley; Jason Shingler, of North Rode, Cheshire; and Derek William Barks, of Leek, Staffordshire.

Others were said in an earlier court hearing to have received "horrendous injuries".

Judge Mrs Justice May told the jury on Thursday to return not guilty verdicts over the manslaughter charges both Mr Boden and Wood Treatment Ltd had been charged with.

She said: "The Court of Appeal has directed that the company and Mr Boden are not guilty on counts one to eight, inclusive on the indictment, that's to say the four corporate manslaughter and four gross negligence manslaughter charges."

PA Media George Boden arrives at Chester Town Hall on 20/01/21PA Media
George Boden admitted a health and safety charge

Wood Treatment Ltd has previously admitted a health and safety offence but both the firm and Mr Boden, 64, of Church Road, Stockport, had denied the manslaughter offences.

No family members were in court for the proceedings on Thursday but proceedings were relayed on a videolink.

Mill manager Peter Shingler, 56, of Tunstall Road, Bosley, and operations manager Phil Smith, 58, of Raglan Road, Macclesfield, both deny a health and safety offence.

PA Media Peter Shingler and Philip Smith arrive at Chester Town Hall on 21/01/21PA Media
Managers Peter Shingler and Philip Smith are also standing trial

The trial, which had been sitting for almost 12 weeks since February, had heard employees had raised concerns about safety at the mill in the years leading up to the blast.

The prosecution alleged the explosion was caused by negligence on the part of the company and said management knew dust levels were excessively high.

The case is due to resume on Friday.

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]