Co-op fined after customer dies slipping in water on shop floor

THE Co-operative was yesterday fined £400,000 over the death of a customer who slipped on water from a leaking display that had been faulty for nearly two days.

Stanley May, 74, a retired railway clerk and former parish councillor, hit his head on the floor. The grandfather and local history enthusiast died in hospital two days later.

Truro Crown Court heard that the water leaked from a faulty sandwich chiller, but customers had not been prevented from entering the area at the branch in the Cornish city.

Staff had mopped up the water and engineers had been called the day before the accident but the water continued to leak.

On the day Mr May fell in July 2015 the leaking chiller had not been reported as a maintenance issue and the only control method was a “wet floor” sign.

The supermarket admitted failing to protect customers under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was also ordered to pay £50,000 court costs.

Speaking outside court after the case, Mr May’s daughter, Victoria Parsons, 49, said: “We’re absolutely devastated with the loss of dad. He was a very special person and my mum died a month after he did. She couldn’t cope with the loss of her beloved husband.

“We would like everyone to learn that this could have so easily been avoided – if they had kept an eye on that water my dad would still be alive today.

A spokesman for the Coop said: “We deeply regret the death of Mr Stanley May. The health and safety of our customers is always of paramount concern.

“We accept things went wrong and have acted on the lessons learnt from Mr May’s tragic death.”