Bestway Northern fined £1m after worker killed by reversing HGV

Wholesaler Bestway Northern has been fined £1m this week, after a worker was killed by a reversing HGV while on a delivery in Manchester in 2019.

Lee Warburton, 53, a father of three from Stockport, was employed by Bestway Northern Limited when the incident occurred.

On 19 February 2019, Warburton and a colleague were making a delivery to a central Manchester store and was directing the reversing HGV. While attempting to guide the vehicle into the unloading area, he became trapped between the vehicle and a wall and sustained fatal crush injuries.

His partner, Hayley Tomlinson, speaking to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), described the day he died as the worst of her life. “To be taken in such a cruel manner made it even harder,” she said.

“Knowing the pain and fear Lee must have gone through was unbearable. But nothing compares to the moment I had to tell our children their daddy was never coming home.”

Tomlinson also spoke of the long-term impact on her two daughters, aged just nine and ten at the time of the incident. Both have suffered serious mental health challenges, including depression, bullying and social isolation, she said. “It broke my children’s spirits. They lost the sparkle in their eyes. Lee was their hero.

“My children will miss out on all the milestones Lee should have been here for - walking them down the aisle, meeting their first child. They miss the cuddles, the love he showed them, the days out. This has changed our lives forever.”

An HSE investigation found that Bestway Northern Limited, of Abbey Road, Park Royal, London, had failed to implement a safe system of work for vehicle movements. The company also failed to adequately assess the risks involved in the task or provide sufficient training for employees acting as banksmen.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £1 million and ordered to pay full prosecution costs of £11,950.07 at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday last week (18 July).

After the hearing, HSE inspector Jane Carroll said: “The company had failed to implement a safe system of work for its delivery and unloading activities, exposing employees and others to the risk of being struck or caught by workplace vehicles.

“Nearly a quarter of all deaths involving workplace transport occur during reversing, most of which can be avoided by taking simple precautions.

“All work settings involving vehicles need to consider the risks arising from their use and implement adequate measures to ensure the safety of those involved in these activities.”