- Two construction companies have been fined a combined total of more than £1.1m following the death of a worker who was buried alive in Surrey.
- Gheorghita Arsene, 33, was fatally crushed on 24 June 2020 when an unsupported 10ft deep trench collapsed on him at a construction site in Banstead.
- Appledorn Developments Limited was fined £500,000 and T Vaughan Limited was fined £650,000 plus £40,000 in costs by Judge Judy Khan KC at the Old Bailey.
- Contracts manager Anthony O’Connor was handed a 10-month sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work after admitting health and safety breaches.
- The Health and Safety Executive highlighted that basic precautions were ignored, as no trench supports were installed to protect workers from well-known excavation risks.
IN FULL
