‘Ex-worker at blast mill told owner “you are going to kill somebody”’
A FORMER worker at a mill where four people died in an explosion told it’s Mellor owner “you’re going to kill somebody”, a court has heard.
The blast at the Wood Treatment Ltd mill in Bosley on July 17, 2015, killed cleaner Dorothy Bailey, 62, maintenance fitter Derek William Barks, known as Will, 51, mill worker Derek Moore, 62, and chargehand Jason Shingler, 38, whose body was never recovered.
Wood Treatment Ltd has admitted a health and safety offence but denies four counts of corporate manslaughter, while owner and director Boden, 65, of Church Road, Mellor, denies four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offence.
Mill manager Peter Shingler, 57, of Tunstall Road, Bosley, and operations manager Phil Smith, 59, of Raglan Road, Macclesfield, both deny a health and safety offence.
Giving evidence at Chester Town Hall on Tuesday, Gavin Thomas said he had worked at the mill from about April to September 2014.
He described faulty machinery, a build up of wood dust in areas of the mill and said he witnessed a fire in one of the buildings on site, but the fire service was not called.
Mr Thomas said when he left his job he spoke to owner George Boden, who is accused of gross negligence manslaughter.
He told the court: “I said ‘you’re going to kill somebody’.”
Asked why he made the comment, Mr Thomas said: “Just the state of the site.”
The court heard the day after the explosion, a post on Mr Thomas’s Facebook profile said: “I guess that’s what happens when you pay backhanders to health and safety to turn a blind eye.”
He denied suggestions from lawyers for Wood Treatment Ltd and Boden that his evidence was untrue. Derek Potts, who had worked at the mill for 26 years before he left in 2014, told the court the quality of raw materials at the site got worse when Boden and his two brothers took over, in 2008.
The court heard in a housekeeping audit Mr Potts completed in 2012 he had written “where do I start” when asked to list potential hazards.
He said: “There was metal everywhere, flour in the motors, just a lot of hazards.”
Mr Potts said a couple of years before he left he had an accident while working in an area known as the sawdust receiving room, where he sieved raw material through a grid. He told the court sometimes the levels of material which needed to be sieved would build up and be above his head.
He said: “Everywhere around me was high so as I started getting it to drop down into the grid it all sort of collapsed around me and as good as nearly buried me.”
Mr Potts said he complained to management and after a few weeks a walkway was added to the room.
The court heard he had acted as a spokesperson for workers not represented by a union but had stepped down from the role because he felt things were not getting done.
He said: “I felt I weren’t doing the men justice.”
POLICE are appealing for help to find a man who is wanted in connection to criminal damage and threats incidents.
Mohammed Ashraf, who is also known as Tahir Ashraf Chaudhery, has links to Stockport.
The 53-year-old from Greater Manchester. is now believed to be in the Northwich area of Cheshire.
Police said he also has links to Cheadle and Manchester.
He is wanted in connection to incidents involving criminal damage and threats in Runcorn.
Ashraf is described as 6ft 3in tall with a proportionate build.
He has black hair that is greying and brown eyes.
Anyone who sees Ashraf, or has information regarding his whereabouts, is asked to call Cheshire Constabulary immediately on 101, quoting IML 918080.
Alternatively, information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Enass Al-Ani, principal of Birmingham’s Small Heath Leadership Academy, says it’s “absolutely vital” for children to get back to school. “The prime minister’s announcement that schools will reopen fully to all pupils is great news. It’s absolutely vital that children do get the whole school experience. Remote teaching cannot substitute that complete experience that people receive in school, and closures and the lockdown have taken their toll on young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
“We’ve placed an extra emphasis on supporting our students’ wellbeing throughout this period. We know children are incredibly resilient. They will bounce back, I’m sure. But schools have an important role to play in ensuring that the pandemic doesn’t have long-term repercussions for young people’s mental wellbeing.
“When students return, our initial focus will be on their wellbeing, and we’ll continue to provide extra support.