A CHESHIRE West farm owner has been fined thousands of pounds after a roofing contractor fell from a crate on a forklift truck and tragically died.

Denis Thornhill, 78 and the company which he is a director of, DS Thornhill (Rushton) Limited, were each responsible for health and safety failings in the moments which led to the death of 64-year-old Mark Young at Moss Hill Farm, Rushton, near Tarporley.

Each were found guilty on one charge of failing to ensure the health and safety of persons other than employees, following a trial which took place at Chester Crown Court earlier this year. Thornhill had also stood accused of gross negligence manslaughter and the jury acquitted him of that.

Sentencing at the same court on Friday, October 11, The Honourable Mr Justice Stephen Morris fined Thornhill £4,000 and ordered him to pay £4,000 costs, while the company was ordered to pay a £12,000 fine with £10,000 costs.

Prosecuting, Craig Hassall KC said Mr Young was a roofer, carrying out maintenance work at the farm with his son Oliver Forshaw, on February 1, 2021.

The court heard Mr Young had telephoned Philip Thornhill, the defendant's son, saying he wanted to be lifted up to the inside of the roof in a potato crate. Philip Thornhill was busy, so the defendant was asked to lift Mr Young up in the crate. He arranged to do so, selecting a new undamaged potato crate and drove a JCB forklift truck with the crate to the packing shed where the work was taking place.

Thornhill suggested to Mr Young that a ratchet strap should be used to attach the crate to the forks of the forklift. Mr Young said that was unnecessary. Thornhill said Mr Young should not leave the middle of the crate during the task.

Thornhill lifted the crate, using the forklift truck, so Mr Young was at a height of about 3.5 metres. Mr Forshaw was on the outside of the roof putting a panel into position, while Mr Young was on the inside.

The court heard that, according to Thornhill, Mr Young moved to the left side of the crate, causing both him and the crate to tip off the forks and fall to the ground.

Mr Young suffered multiple injuries and, despite the efforts of paramedics, was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a victim personal statement, Mr Young's daughter Laurie Forshaw described being in "shock" and being "numb" at the news of her father's death, and described the struggles of her family since then.

Ms Forshaw added: "I did everything with my dad, in fact he relied on me. I did his food shopping and his work invoicing. We spoke on the phone daily and I would quite often go to his house to make his tea. 

"He was great with the kids and was always generous with them and they loved being with their grandad. 

"My dad showed me how to do a lot of things and if I ever asked him to do something or help he would without question. This has been taken away from me and my family."

The court heard both the company and Thornhill failed to take reasonably practicable steps to control the risk of harm from working at height.

Neither Thornhill or the company had any previous convictions or previous health and safety breaches.

Defending, Malcolm Galloway said numerous character references in support of Thornhill, who was well known in the community, had been submitted, and the case had taken a long time to resolve.

Defending the company, Lucy Wright said the farm was on course to make a £10,000 loss this year, with variable financial performance over the past few years being "in hostage" to the weather conditions.

Mr Justice Morris said he had, from a background a long time ago, in the Potato Marketing Board, and was aware of the fluctuating price of potatoes.

Sentencing, the judge said steps which should have been taken included refusing to provide the forklift truck and potato crate to lift Mr Young to height, using a ratchet strap to secure the potato crate, and using a man cage for use with the company's own telehandler. He added Thornhill "could, and should, have refused to provide the unsuitable improvised lifting equipment and to operate it to lift up Mr Young".

The court heard video evidence had been presented during the trial showing that, even without a ratchet strap, the potato crate was "more stable than first thought and would only become unstable if a person moved far to the side of the crate."

The judge added Thornhill had been involved in thousands of lifting boxes full of potatoes over the years, without ever having one tip.

Expert evidence given at trial had also said the practice of lifting people up "in this way happens regularly around the country without any incident at all, and that even where there is an incident, it is unlikely to result in a fatality or very serious injury".

The judge also detailed a number of "substantial steps" the company had voluntarily undertaken since February 2021 to improve health and safety, which included forklift truck testing, purchasing a safety harness to work on the grain bins, a locked ladder system and health and safety courses.

A pre-sentence report had said Thornhill's "attitude is one of deep shame and regret".

The judge extended his sympathy to Mr Young's family "for their terrible loss".

Costs from the case were to be split evenly between the Crown Prosecution Service and the Health and Safety Executive.