Died when tyres fell through roof

pany in September 2015, DHL failed to complete a comprehensive health and safety audit and so there was no opportunity to identify any poor practice.

Stacking tyres too high and too close to the internal office was an inherently dangerous practice which had become a common occurrence and was not a practice that staff had ever been told not to do.

Stacking each stack of tyres too close to each other was another inherently dangerous practice which staff had not been instructed not to do.

A Coroner’s Inquest held in April last year had already found that the cause of the death included the absence of a takeover audit, absence of risk assessments, lack of staff training, the practice of high and top heavy stacking of mixed stillages adjacent to the porta cabin office, mixed and misaligned stillages which were too close to each other, the absence of floor markings to guide stillage placement, and the reliance upon the views/judgements of individual drivers as to safe practices.

The company was taken to court by Coventry City Council.

And the outcome of the court case has been welcomed by Cllr Christine Thomas, chairman of the licensing and regulatory committee, who said her thoughts are with the family and friends of those affected by the tragic accident.

Cllr Thomas added: “I am really grateful for the efforts of Environmental Health Officers from the Council who were notified of the accident the same day and immediately began their detailed investigations.

“This is the largest and most complex case that safety officers have had to deal with.

“As a local authority we are responsible for enforcing health and safety at work legislation in warehouses such as this one, and it is a responsibility our officers take very seriously.”

Cllr Abdul Khan said that ‘lessons had been learned’ by DHL.

He added: “Colleagues in our food and safety team worked closely with DHL staff and managers and the HSE during the course of their investigative work, lasting three and a half years, and identified a list of concerns and failings by the company.

“DHL have received a significant fine and probably the largest following a health and safety prosecution by the Council.

Most importantly lessons have been learned by DHL and safety management at the warehouse has improved.

“Also, the cost that the Council incurred in investigating this case over three and a half years have been secured.”