I’ll never forgive safety cover-up, says grieving mum

ANDREW BARDSLEY

THE mother of a young dad who died at work says she will never forgive his employers after they tried to cover up health and safety failings which led to his death.

Benjamin Edge, 25, whose daughter was just two, plunged from the roof of a shed at Fletcher Bank Quarry in Ramsbottom on December 10, 2014.

Mr Edge, from Greenmount, Bury, was employed by SR and RJ Brown and working on the roof with no safety equipment, in wet and windy conditions.

At a Manchester Crown Court sentencing two directors of the company, brothers James and Christopher Brown, both of Gollinrod, Bury, were jailed for 20 months after admitting perverting the course of justice.

James Brown, 32, composed a ‘grossly inadequate’ risk assessment before the job which he did not show to anyone.

After Mr Edge was rushed to hospital he then typed up another risk assessment, which should have been done beforehand.

The company itself ●● Benjamin Edge (left) died at work. Mark Aspin (middle), James Brown (top right) and Christopher Brown (bottom right) admitted corporate manslaughter and failing to ensure the safety of a worker, and was fined £300,000.

Mark Aspin, the boss of MA Excavations, who contracted SR and RJ Brown to carry out the work, was jailed for 12 months after admitting failing to ensure work was managed and planned safely.

His firm was fined £150,000 after admitting corporate responsibility for exposing workers to risk.

Aspin, 37, of Hameldon Road, Burnley, said he believed the Browns were ‘competent’ and could complete the job safely, but the court heard he did not check their qualifications.

Peter Heap, 34, a labourer who agreed to help the Browns as a ‘favour’, admitted perverting the course of justice but was spared jail and given a four month prison suspended for two years.

Heap, of Barrowford Road, Burnley, was asked by Christopher Brown, 25, to go home and collect harnesses to make it look like the accident was Mr Edge’s fault, because he had not worn safety equipment.

“Foolishly, weakly and criminally - as he now realises - Peter Heap went along with what he was told to do,” Mr Justice Openshaw said.

The Browns persisted with the ‘deliberate falsifications’ in June 2015, when they maintained that the harnesses had been there before the incident, although they did admit falsifying the risk assessment.

After the hearing, Mr Edge’s mother Janet Edge said her family and friends are now serving a ‘life sentence’.

She said: ““We are tormented by the circumstances under which Ben died, .....one word that constantly tortures us is ‘betrayal’.

“In the aftermath of the fall, when Ben was dying their sole interest was self - preservation through perverting the course of justice in a futile attempt to lay blame on a innocent, dying young man.

She added: “We have often wondered how victims find forgiveness in them after the loss of a loved one.

“We have no forgiveness and never will while we have a breath in our bodies.”

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable David Potter, of GMP’s Bury borough, said: “This is a tragic set of circumstances that has led to the needless death of a young man which has devastated his family.

“These failings were flagrant breaches of the employer’s legal duties and his young daughter will now have to grow up without her dad because of their actions.

“They were trying to make it look like the victim was at fault by falsely suggesting that he had ignored management instructions and that he had taken his harness off.

“I hope that the sentences passed today can help to bring closure to Ben’s family and they can try to move forward.”

HSE Inspector Laura Moran said: “The dangers associated with working at height are well known and the law and the associated guidance is very clear.

“S.R. & R. J. Brown Limited were not competent to carry out this work and, through its directors Christopher and James Brown, it completely failed in its duties as an employer to properly plan the work and to ensure it was carried out safely.

“The main contractor, M.A. Excavations Limited, and its director Mark Aspin failed to carry out any checks to ensure that S.R. & R.J. Brown had the necessary knowledge, experience and equipment to carry out the work safely; instead, they allowed the work to proceed in a completely unsafe manner.

“The failings of both companies and the three directors sentenced today put those working on the project at significant risk, ultimately costing Mr Edge his life in what was a completely foreseeable and avoidable incident.” TWO staff members at a Valley school have been mingling with the stars on our TV screens.

Lynn Gibbons and Joanne Lynch, teaching assistants at St Anne’s Edgeside CE Primary School, have been appearing on ITV’s new series of cooking show ‘Chopping Block’.

The pair run several cookery clubs at St Anne’s and appeared in the first show on Monday, March 20, impressing judges Rosemary Shrager and John Whaite with their honeycomb and tempered chocolate to win the dessert round.

They entered because of their love for cooking, never imagining they would be picked to appear.

The duo found the show enjoyable but a challenge and are remaining tightlipped about the winner, who is revealed on Friday.

Joanne said: “We really enjoyed the whole experience but it was very challenging.”

Lynn added: “We got on well with the other contestants and John and Rosemary were great with us.”

Chopping Block sees three couples enter a cooking school each week to show off their culinary skills in a bid to be named best cooks. In the penultimate episode of the week, one couple is sent home, leaving two to battle it out in the final showdown for a cash prize. ●● Lynn Gibbons and Joanne Lynch