Company fined £385,000 for corporate manslaughter conviction

The first company to be tried and convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has been fined £385,000 for the death of a man who was killed when a trench collapsed on him.

Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd was convicted by a jury at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday, of failing to ensure the safety of 27-year-old geologist, Alexander Wright. He was asphyxiated in September 2008 while taking soil samples from a housing development site in Brimscombe Lane, near Stroud.

In delivering the fine, the judge, Mr Justice Field, said the amount of the fine marked the gravity of the offence and said it would create a significant deterrent effect for other companies from straying from health and safety guidance.

The company is now described as being in a parlous financial state, and has been allowed to pay the money back over the course of 10 years, at £38,500 per annum.

The firm's chief executive, Peter Eaton - who was described by the judge as "in substance, the company" - was originally personally charged with manslaughter. He is battling cancer, however, and is said to only have months to live so the trial was brought on charges against the company.

Speaking after the trial, Gloucestershire Constabulary, the investigating police force, said the company had "a cavalier attitude towards health and safety" that was "inherently dangerous" and "outdated".

Legal authorities have said the conviction will be hailed by both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Health and Safety Executive as a success.