Directors jailed and firms fined after five workers killed by wall collapse

Wayne Hawkeswood and Graham Woodhouse were sentenced over safety failings linked to the deaths of five men in 2016.

Richard Vernalls
Monday 15 May 2023 12:46 EDT
The scene at Hawkeswood Metal Recycling in Birmingham where five men died after a wall collapsed (HSE/PA)
The scene at Hawkeswood Metal Recycling in Birmingham where five men died after a wall collapsed (HSE/PA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Two metal recycling company directors have each been jailed for nine months after five workers died when a 45-tonne wall collapsed and crushed them, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.

The 15ft (3.5m) high concrete-block structure was over-loaded with 263 tonnes of metal briquettes and so close to toppling a “breath of wind” could have brought it down, a judge previously heard.

The weight of metal, stored at a scrapyard in the Nechells area of the Birmingham, was equivalent to about six fully laden articulated lorries.

Labourers Almamo Jammeh, 45, Ousman Diaby, 39, Bangally Dukuray, 55, Saibo Sillah, 42, and Mahamadou Jagana, 49, were pronounced dead at the scene on July 7, 2016.

The HSE prosecuted Birmingham-based firms Ensco 10101 (previously trading as Shredmet Ltd) and Hawkeswood Metal Recycling (HMR), as well as directors Wayne Hawkeswood and Graham Woodhouse, for a host of safety failings linked to the deaths.

Hawkesood and Woodhouse were each given jail terms at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, while HMR was fined £1 million and Ensco £600,000, the HSE said.

The judge also made an order for £775,000 in prosecution costs.

Investigators later discovered other unstable walls on site, said poor safety records were kept, and staff training was basic.

Hawkeswood, who was on site on the day, was the owner of both companies and managing director of each firm, with Woodhouse responsible for day-to-day operations.

The labourers were working to clear swarf – waste from machining processes – ahead of an incoming load of scrapped aero engines.

The wall, which collapsed – killing the men instantly – was made up of 30 concrete blocks, each the size of a domestic fridge-freezer and weighing the same as a large family car.

Health inspectors later found the wall had previously been taken down, then reassembled.

Describing the collapse at the start of a trial last year, prosecutor Pascal Bates told a jury: “At just after 8.34am that morning, some 15 minutes after the agency workers first go to bay four, the wall between bays three and four topples over into bay four.

“It fell as a complete ‘slate’ – a 45-tonne wall has been pushed over by 263 tonnes of briquettes into the neighbouring bay.

“The wall was decidedly unsafe in its state and no-one should have been working anywhere near it.”

All those killed were originally from west Africa and held either Spanish or Portuguese passports.

Hawkeswood and Woodhouse had denied risking workers’ safety.

But a jury convicted the men and their companies of all 12 counts under the Health and Safety at Work Act after a trial which lasted six weeks.

The families of the dead men, four of whom were originally from Gambia and one from Senegal, described Shredmet and Hawkeswood Metal Recycling’s failures as “scandalous and inexcusable”.

All five victims had been working in Spain but came to the UK for better work prospects, where they were hired to work at Shredmet through an agency.

They were killed instantly in the collapse and had to be identified through fingerprints, while a sixth worker suffered a broken leg, and another narrowly escaped injury.

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.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in