Liability admitted by firm after man crushed in Headley

Prosecuting counsel Esther Schutzer-Weissmann said that Malcolm Hinton was crushed to death on March 6, 2012, by the hopper of a Scarab road sweeper, owned by Mobile Sweepers (Reading) Ltd.
Mervyn Owens, aged 58, of Gordon Place, Reading, was charged with failing to discharge a health and safety duty and the company Mobile Sweepers, which he co-owned with his wife Mary and which ceased trading on the day of the accident, was charged with corporate manslaughter.
Mr Owens pleaded guilty to both charges at a hearing in December.
Mr Hinton, aged 56, a casual worker with no training, was paid cash in hand by Mr Owens, was working underneath the hopper at the company’s operating site at Riddings Farm, Goose Hill, Headley.
He was attempting to repair a severe oil leak, as the light was fading and without any protective clothing, and accidentally disconnected a hydraulic hose, designed to prevent the machine from falling upon him, after cab controls had failed to raise the hopper correctly from the ground.
“It was not a case of poor systems inadequately implemented... there were none at all,” said Miss Schutzer-Weissman.
Mr Owens attempted to lift the hopper with a JCB, but paramedics declared Mr Hinton dead at the scene.
In a post-morten held two days later it was discovered that he had died from severe crush injuries to his head and chest.
A mechanical assessment showed that the road sweeper and others owned by the company had multiple mechanical defects. Miss Schutzer-Weissman said that, had it not been MOT exempt, it would have failed the test.
The defence counsel for Mobile Sweepers, Andrew McGee, said that hoppers were routinely propped up. However, the company accepted the charges and offered profound sympathy to Mr Hinton’s widow Patricia and family.
“His sense of remorse at the death of Malcolm Hinton is genuine and truly heartfelt,” said Mr McGee, who added that Mr Hinton had been Mr Owens' close friend.
In a written statement submitted in her absence, Mrs Hinton, a former nurse, said that her husband’s death had considerably affected her family, both mentally and physically, forcing her and the couple’s three foster children – Ben, aged 20, Steven, aged 43 and Helen, aged 45, who suffered varying problems from self-harming to learning difficulties – to move back to Wales. Following this she had suffered a mini-stroke.
Mrs Hinton said that Helen had been her late husband’s shadow and was now terrified that she would lose her as well, especially after her ill health.
Judge Guy Boney QC is to pronounce sentence at a hearing on Wednesday, February 26.