A man whose pack of dogs savaged a six-year-old girl has been jailed.
Bernard Valentine, of Ackers Lane, Carrington, was sentenced to 49 months behind bars after the the attack, which involved his pocket bulldogs.
On Sunday 26 March this year, the young girl walked to her friend’s house on Ackers Lane.
As she walked past a property where Valentine was staying in his camper van outside, she was set upon by a pack of six dogs that were being kept in the back garden and in the defendant’s camper van.
The girl’s older sister tried to wrestle the dogs off, but they only ran away when her mother picked her up.
She suffered serious injuries to her face, scalp, hand, abdomen, arms, legs, back and shoulder, and has since had surgery.
Valentine was arrested two days later when his van was traced to Fallowfield in south Manchester and the dogs were subsequently seized.
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He was also arrested in connection with a second attack on the same road, when a man walking his dalmatian was injured after being set upon by the dogs.
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Valentine was also banned from owning dogs for life and has a 10-year restraining order after pleading guilty to eight charges of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and possession of Class B drugs.
Former Metropolitan Police officer Adam Provan has been jailed for 16 years – with another eight years on extended licence for multiple rapes against a teenage girl and a female police officer.
The 44-year-old was convicted in June of six counts of rape of a fellow police officer between 2003 and 2005.
He was also found guilty of two counts of rape of a 16-year-old girl, who he met on a blind date after lying about his age in 2010.
Judge Noel Lucas said he was troubled by the way the Met handled the female police officer’s initial complaints about Provan’s behaviour in 2005.
He said those who dealt with the complaints at the Met “were more concerned with looking after one of their own than taking her seriously” – and had an investigation been taken forward, the teenage victim may have been spared.
Sentencing Provan at Wood Green Crown Court, the judge said he displayed a “cold-blooded entitlement to sex” then immediately behaved as if everything was “completely normal”.
He concluded that the “persistence and seriousness” of Provan’s offending was clear, adding: “By your actions, you brought disgrace on the police force.”
Read more: ‘Provan had ‘fascination bordering on obsessive’ with young women
Provan was a serving officer in the Met Police East Area Command Unit at the time of the offences.
He was jailed for nine years in 2018 after being convicted of raping the 16-year-old victim following a retrial – and served three years and three months in prison before a successfully appeal.
When his case was sent for a third trial in May, six new counts of rape were added – relating to earlier offences against the serving Metropolitan Police officer.
On the first day of a two-day sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Provan had 751 female contacts in his mobile.
Prosecutor Anthony Metzer KC said details from the phone “strongly suggested” there was sexual activity with the women, many of whom were young.
Mr Metzer said Provan used his position to gain the trust of young women and had “aspects of a Jekyll And Hyde character”.
He added that Provan had an “extended history of allegations” of sexual misconduct dating back to the 1990s.
Speaking at the court from behind a screen, the teenage victim, who is now in her 20s, said: “The day I met Adam Provan changed my life forever.
“No prison sentence will take away the harm Adam Provan has caused me. No amount of justice will make me forget the date from hell.
“Even though I tried my best to block it out I will never forget how scared I was when the assault took place, and 13 years later reliving my worst nightmare.”
Being told that Provan really was a police officer, as he had claimed to be, was “sickening”, she said.
The other victim, still a serving officer, said she had “lived in constant fear” that Provan would kill her, and felt he saw himself as “untouchable”.
She told the court that she also felt the police had not dealt with Provan and had failed to protect her.
A ‘master manipulator’ previously employed as deputy head at the private day school once attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte has been jailed for 12 years after admitting child sex offences.
Matthew Smith, 35, began working at Thomas’s Battersea, where he was also head of pastoral care, in September last year but was sacked two months later after he was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
George started at the school in 2017 and Charlotte in 2019 but both had left by the time Smith joined and there is no suggestion any of his offending related to Thomas’s or its pupils.
Smith, from East Dulwich, southeast London, pleaded guilty to 22 offences, including encouraging the rape of a child under 13, causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and arranging the sexual abuse of a child.
Investigators found he was sharing abuse material on the dark web and had paid teenagers in India £65,000 to abuse younger children in India over a five-year period.
Smith was living in Nepal, where he worked at a school for most of that time but had previously worked in orphanages and for NGOs across India between 2007 and 2014.
Image: Matthew Smith was head of pastoral care at Thomas’s Battersea
He moved back to the UK in July 2022 and that summer posted an advert online looking for a flat share in which he said he was a primary school teacher and could help with childcare.
But he was arrested before he was taken up on the offer and the NCA said there is no evidence he committed offences against children in the UK or in Nepal.
Smith was jailed for 12 years at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday and put on the sex offenders register for life.
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Helen Dore, Senior Officer of the National Crime Agency, said: “Matthew Smith is a prolific offender and master manipulator, who coerced young men into abusing children on his behalf.
“He constantly sought out opportunities to gain access to children, but was adept at hiding his sexual interest in them. He conducted his offending while working as a teacher and head of pastoral care – a deep betrayal of the trust placed in him.
“It’s clear Smith has absolutely no empathy for his victims and the harm he has caused them. He presents a very real and significant risk to children, but this investigation has ensured he will spend a long time in prison.
“The NCA is committed to operating online and overseas, working with global partners to ensure that children are safeguarded and offenders like Smith are brought to justice.”
A spokesperson for the school said: “We have been shocked and appalled beyond measure by this matter and are grateful for the work of the police and courts in bringing this man to account.
“Mr Smith’s employment at the school, which commenced in September 2022, was terminated with immediate effect when the school first learned of the charges against him in November.
“While the National Crime Agency has confirmed that none of the matters under investigation related to the school or its pupils, these deplorable actions constitute an unforgivable breach of trust and our thoughts are with those who have been impacted or damaged by them.
“As always, we remain absolutely committed to the ongoing safety and wellbeing of our pupils and our whole school community.”
A man who raped a teenager five months before she was murdered by her brother has been jailed for 10 years and six months.
Jamie Starrs, 20, assaulted Amber Gibson and raped her while she was asleep or unconscious at a property in Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, in June 2021.
Amber, 16, was sexually assaulted and murdered in November 2021 by her brother, Connor Gibson, who was convicted last month following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Starrs was found guilty of raping the teenager following a separate trial at the High Court in Lanark in July.
He was also convicted of raping another teenage girl in Bothwell in May 2021.
Judge Thomas Welsh KC handed Starrs an extended sentence comprising 10 and a half years in custody and two years of supervision upon release at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
Sentencing Starrs, who appeared via video link from custody, the judge said: “You have been convicted of appalling crimes against two innocent teenage girls and you have been assessed as being of very high risk of sexual violence on release.
“I am required to take into account your age and difficult upbringing. However, the crimes remain serious and grave, and I will impose an extended sentence.”
He said that he would have ordered 11 years to be served in custody but reduced this to 10 and a half years behind bars to take into account the time that Starrs has spent on remand.
Starrs was also found guilty of a breach of bail conditions, and of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
He has been placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
Giving a plea in mitigation, Michael Meehan KC, representing Starrs, highlighted that as he is under 25 the sentence must take into account sentencing guidelines which reflect that a younger person will have a lower level of maturity than an older person.
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He said a report identified that Starrs shows “cognitive and emotional immaturity”.
The lawyer had also urged the judge to consider his client’s adverse childhood experiences when sentencing.
He told the court that Starrs was removed from parental care at the age of three and developed addiction issues from the age of nine.
Mr Meehan said: “He has a traumatic background from a young age which perhaps gives some degree of explanation.”
The sentencing comes a fortnight after Connor Gibson, 20, was convicted of attacking his sister Amber in woodland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, in November 2021, removing her clothes, sexually assaulting with the intention of raping her, inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and body, and strangling her.
Amber was reported missing on the evening of Friday 26 November and her body was discovered in Cadzow Glen at about 10.10am on 28 November.
Stephen Corrigan, 45, was found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and breach of the peace by intimately touching and concealing Amber’s body after discovering it, instead of contacting the emergency services.
Gibson will be sentenced on 4 September for a crime Judge Lord Mulholland described as “depraved”, while Corrigan will also be sentenced next month.
A judge has called for the Metropolitan Police to review acceptable speeds for responses to 999 calls after an officer was jailed over the death of a young woman.
PC Nadeem Patel, 28, was driving at more than 80mph before his patrol car struck 25-year-old Shante Daniel-Folkes on Stockwell Road in Brixton, south London, on 9 June 2021.
Ms Daniel-Folkes was thrown into the air, fell unconscious and died at the scene.
PC Patel pleaded guilty in February to causing her death by dangerous driving and was sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from driving for 54 months.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC told PC Patel: “It is clear from the investigation that has been conducted that you drove at grossly excessive speed, over a not insignificant distance, far in excess of that which was safe given the prevailing road conditions, even making allowance for the fact of responding to an emergency call and not being bound by the speed limit.”
The case can only now be reported after the conclusion of the Old Bailey trial of PC Gary Thomson who was driving just ahead of PC Patel and was not involved in the collision.
PC Thomson was cleared of dangerous driving but convicted of the lesser offence of careless driving on Monday.
He was fined £500 and given five penalty points, as well as being ordered to pay costs of £500.
Sentencing PC Thomson, Judge Lucraft said: “I note there is no clear guidance provided by the Metropolitan Police on speeds police cars should not exceed in responding to emergency calls when driving in residential areas or roads subject to a speed limit of 30mph.
“In my judgment, further thought should be given to this issue particularly as the speed limits in many residential areas are being further reduced to 20mph.”
Ms Daniel-Folkes had been walking across the road at around 11.20pm close to a pedestrian crossing when PC Thomson’s car passed her with its emergency lights and siren activated.
She continued to cross and was struck by PC Patel’s vehicle around three to four seconds later.
He had earlier switched off his front emergency lights so as to not affect PC Thomson’s vision in the lead vehicle but did have his siren activated.
Although exempt from the 30mph limit, PC Patel reached a peak speed of 83.9mph on Stockwell Road just 115 metres before the point the car stopped.
The vehicle was travelling at around 55mph at the time of the crash after PC Patel braked for two seconds from a speed of more than 81mph.
The vehicle being driven by PC Thomson also passed Ms Daniel-Folkes at speeds of between 70-79mph.
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Family ‘numb and empty’ after death
During PC Patel’s sentencing in February, Ms Daniel-Folkes’s family described her as “kind, funny, loving, and very creative”.
Judge Lucraft said: “She is described as bubbly and carefree – a lover of life and someone who was ambitious.
“She loved fashion and design. She was a mentor, an artist, a certified nail technician looking forward to opening her own salon and to a bright future for herself and her young son who she adored. She was much loved by all who knew her.
“The family are devastated by the loss of Shante.
“They express a numb and empty feeling at Shante’s loss and speak about the long-lasting impact on the family and that on Shante’s young son in particular – a son she will not see grow up and make his own way in life.”
Rosemary Ainslie, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Shante Daniel-Folkes following this avoidable tragedy.
“Both officers, although not bound by the 30mph speed limit while responding to a 999 call, were driving at motorway speeds in a built-up urban area, with a number of potential hazards in the vicinity.
“These included pedestrians, cyclists, and cars travelling in the other direction, as well as an open convenience store directly at the scene and a nearby pub in which 30 to 40 customers were present for a quiz night.
“There was an obvious risk of injury to a person from vehicles travelling at that speed in the dark, and both officers fell below the expected standard of a competent and careful driver that evening.
“PC Patel admitted causing the death of Ms Daniel-Foulkes by driving dangerously and I hope his sentence, along with today’s verdict for PC Thomson, offers some comfort to her family at this extremely difficult time.”
Two drug dealers who stabbed an aspiring lawyer to death in a case of mistaken identity have been handed life sentences for his murder.
Rashid Gedel and Shiroh Ambersley were among a group of six men who targeted 22-year-old Sven Badzak and his 16-year-old friend in a “gang-style attack” as the victims returned from a trip to Waitrose, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Badzak fell to the ground and was repeatedly stabbed during the incident in Kilburn, northwest London, in February 2021, while the teenager was also stabbed but managed to run to a nearby supermarket for help.
Image: Rashid Gedel was convicted of murder. Pic: Met Police
Prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC said neither victim was a gang member or associate but appeared to be the “unfortunate victims of mistaken identity”.
Gedel and Ambersely, both 22, were found guilty last month of murder and wounding with intent.
They were each acquitted of attempted murder of the 16-year-old but both convicted of wounding with intent.
Gedel, from Ilford, was jailed for at least 27 years and Ambersley, from Wembley, was also sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison.
Image: Shiroh Ambersley was also found guilty of murder. Pic: Met Police
Mr Badzak’s mother Jasna, a former Conservative Party activist, attended the trial by video link after it was delayed due to industrial action by barristers last summer.
Following her son’s murder, she shared pictures on Twitter of him as a child with then prime minister Boris Johnson, former chancellor George Osborne, and ex-PM David Cameron, alongside a plea for help.
She thanked jurors for “their hard work and diligence in reaching the rightful verdict of murder” after the defendants were convicted in July.
Ms Badzak also vowed to “fight till the end of her life” to secure “Sven’s law” – to ensure anyone found to be in possession of a knife is handed a mandatory 20 year sentence.
Image: Boris Johnson and Sven Badzak as a child. Pic: Twitter/JasnaBadzak
Image: George Osborne with Sven Badzak and his mother, who is a former Conservative Party activist. Pic: Twitter/JasnaBadzak
Fatal attack lasted 20 seconds
The court heard Gedel and Ambersley had admitted previously carrying knives and drug dealing in the area.
Gedel had four previous convictions for carrying blades dating back to 2014. On his arrest in March 2021, a hunting knife was seized from his bedroom wardrobe.
Ambersley also had a conviction for possession of a blade, two offences of threatening with an offensive weapon in a public place and affray, and possession of drugs.
They had gone to a bakery looking for other young people to attack minutes before the murder and approached Mr Badzak and his friend as they returned from the Waitrose in Finchley Road.
Image: Sven Badzak’s mother shared a photo of her son with David Cameron. Pic: Twitter/JasnaBadzak
“Sven Badzak and his friend were wholly unaware of what was about to happen,” Mr Orchard told the jury.
Mr Badzak was stabbed in the chest, dropping his shopping bag as he fled and collapsed, the court heard.
Mr Orchard said the victim was kicked, punched and stabbed four times during the attack, which lasted just 20 seconds.
Both defendants, who were identified on CCTV, admitted being at the scene but denied they were carrying knives that day and claimed they were only there to sell drugs.
A husband brutally murdered his wife by dousing her in petrol and setting her alight while she sat in her car.
Thomas Rainey, 61, threw a bucket of petrol over mother-of-six Katrina Rainey and set fire to her as she prepared to leave for work.
The 53-year-old, who suffered burns to 90% of her body in the “horrific” attack, initially survived.
Mrs Rainey was treated at the scene by her children – who attempted to cover her with wet towels.
She survived long enough to tell police about the nature of the attack, which she claimed was an act of revenge by her husband because of their pending divorce.
Mrs Rainey later died in hospital of her injuries.
Thomas Rainey, of Knockloughrim, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to her murder.
He must serve a minimum of 18 years in prison before being eligible for release.
Mr Justice O’Hara, who delivered the sentence at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, said “given the horror of what he did to his wife it is the least he deserves”.
The court heard the incident took place at the family home in October 2021.
Mrs Rainey was leaving for work and Rainey opened her car door, covered her with petrol and then set her on fire.
She was unable to get out of the car due to her seatbelt being fastened, so instead kept “hitting the horn and screaming”.
Despite her serious burns, Mrs Rainey was able to relay details of the attack to the emergency services, some of which was captured on police bodycam.
She told police that she had been to see a solicitor and that she believed the attack was her husband’s retaliation to the pending divorce.
She was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where she later died of her injuries.
Rainey initially denied being the attacker, and the court heard that he suggested “in some oblique way” that the fire may have been Mrs Rainey’s “own fault” for “keeping petrol in the car”.
The court heard that, after his arrest, Rainey took part in a mental health assessment, which found he was suffering from a moderate depressive disorder.
The judge was also told that the couple’s six-year-old daughter had died in an accident on their farm a number of years ago, which Rainey felt some level of personal responsibility for.
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However, the court ruled the disorder was not so severe as to prevent him from exercising self-control or understanding his actions.
Speaking outside Belfast Crown Court following the sentencing, Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) Detective Inspector Hazel Miller said Mrs Rainey died a “horrific death”.
She said Mrs Rainey was a “caring and loving mother”, and that her children and wider family circle had experienced “unimaginable grief and anguish”.
“They are still trying to come to terms with losing their loved one in such horrific circumstances,” she said.
“While the sentencing signifies the end of the judicial process, I know that Katrina’s family will be walking away with the heaviest of hearts. My thoughts remain firmly with them,” she added.
An 80-year-old man has been jailed for manslaughter after strangling a young woman nearly half a century ago.
John Apelgren has been convicted after his DNA was flagged as a match in the historical case when he was cautioned for assaulting his third wife in 2019.
The case of Eileen Cotter’s death had been reopened in 2012 when DNA was extracted from her body and compared with a then-prime suspect who was ruled out.
Apelgren hit Ms Cotter, who was a sex worker, in the face and throttled her before throwing her body out of his car, the Old Bailey heard.
Her partly naked body was found on 1 June 1974 outside garages known to be a sex worker haunt.
The 22-year-old’s death in Islington, north London, came two years after Apelgren sexually assaulted an 18-year-old guest at his own wedding to second wife Ann in October 1972.
Prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC had told jurors the incident only came to light years later when police interviewed Ann Apelgren as part of the re-investigation into Ms Cotter’s death in 2012.
Image: Eileen Cotter
The trail went cold for seven more years until 2019, when former minicab driver Apelgren came to the attention of police for attacking his third wife.
He accepted a caution for the assault and his DNA was flagged as a match to the historical killing, which happened just six weeks after the birth of his first child with his ex-wife Ann.
She went on to reveal to investigators he had mistreated her too – and once applied force to her neck with both of his hands.
Apelgren, from Sydenham, south London, declined to give evidence in his trial.
He was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and indecent assault.
On Friday, Mrs Justice May jailed him at the Old Bailey for 10 years for the killing and a further six months for the earlier assault to run consecutively.
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Image: The garages in Islington, north London, where the body of Eileen Cotter was found in 1974
Ms Cotter’s death led to the breakdown of her parents’ relationship and her five-year-old brother Patrick Cotter was taken into care.
In his statement, he said: “No-one ever spoke to me about my sister’s death. I have no memory of her funeral.
“I have no idea where she was laid to rest… As a result of the traumatic event during my childhood I shut down emotionally. It’s made it difficult for me to form close relationships.
“I only have very faint memories of my sister but I believe she cared for me.”
He concluded: “To sum it up in simple terms, the impact of Eileen’s killing had on my life: I was not only deprived of a sister I had little time to get to know, the knock-on effect also meant I lost my mother to suicide and my father to mental illness and alcoholism, all brought about because John Apelgren took Eileen’s life.
“I would like to see justice for Eileen whose life was cruelly cut short 49 years ago.”
A pensioner who murdered a young mum by inflicting almost 200 wounds during a “brutal” screwdriver attack has been jailed for life.
David Jackson, 68, hid the body of Mckyla Taylor, 27, under a duvet on the bedroom floor of his flat in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, after killing her on 16 August last year.
A few hours after police discovered Ms Taylor’s remains, Jackson arrived at the scene asking if he could retrieve a jumper from the property, in Lowtown Street.
He then casually informed an officer that he had killed someone upstairs.
Jackson, described by police as a “drug user”, and Ms Taylor, who had known each other for some time, met up a day earlier on 15 August.
Her family contacted police when she failed to respond to their calls and messages.
Her body was discovered with weights and pushbikes stacked on top when officers forced their way into the flat around 2am on 16 August.
She was pronounced dead around 2.30am, with a post-mortem investigation showing she had suffered 199 separate injuries to her head and body in what police described as a “relentless” attack.
Most of the injuries were inflicted in the bedroom by two screwdrivers found in the living room.
Image: The body of Mckyla Taylor, 27, was found at a flat in Worksop last August
Jackson was jailed for a minimum of 17 years after pleading guilty to murder at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.
He was silent in police interviews and continued to deny murder until a trial was due to begin, “inflicting further pain and anxiety on her loved ones”, Nottinghamshire Police said.
In a statement issued via the force, Ms Taylor’s mother, Emma Sentence, 45, hailed her daughter and “best friend” as a “fun-loving girl” with a smile that would “light up the room” and who had a “contagious laugh”.
Image: Mckyla Taylor with her mother and ‘best friend’, Emma Sentence
“I still remember the weekend she was killed as if it was yesterday,” she said.
“We had a lovely weekend sunbathing, listening to music and doing our nails and then she left and that was the last time I saw her.”
Ms Taylor’s brother, Callum Taylor, 26, will now be taking care of her one-year-old daughter in the same home her mother grew up in.
“It is like a part of Mckyla is coming home,” he said.
‘No sentence will ever be enough’
“Mckyla had always wanted to be a mum and was so thrilled when she found out she was pregnant. I just want to do my best to bring up her daughter and give her a normal, loving life.”
Ms Taylor was a “lovely and loving person who always put other people first,” Mr Taylor added.
“If she was in a house fire Mckyla was the sort of person who would be the last out.
Image: Mckyla Taylor as a child with her older sister, Nicole, and younger brother, Callum
“No sentence will ever be enough for what happened to Mckyla.
“I will never forget waking up that day and hearing she had been killed.
“I cannot understand why anyone would want to hurt someone that kind.
“I don’t really feel like I have been through the grieving process yet. I’ve just wanted to stay strong for others.”
Her older sister, Nicole, 29, described her as the “life and soul of the party” and said she was “always bubbly, always singing, always dancing”.
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Sentencing judge James Sampson said Jackson would not be eligible for parole for 16 years and 135 days – taking into account the 230 days served in custody.
He also praised the family for their dignity throughout the court proceedings.
Speaking after the sentencing, Nottinghamshire Police detective chief inspector Clare Dean said: “Mckyla was a young woman who was loved and adored by her family and many friends.
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“Her life was taken away from her in the most brutal fashion by David Jackson, who has shown very little remorse and would not give any account in interview.
“The attack Jackson inflicted on Mckyla was relentless, causing catastrophic injuries which ultimately led to her death.
“Today’s sentence will not bring Mckyla back, but it does mean that Jackson will spend a considerable part of his life behind bars, and I hope this gives her family some comfort.”
Two metal recycling company directors have been jailed to nine months in prison after five workers died when a 45-tonne wall collapsed and crushed them, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said.
Birmingham-based firms Ensco 10101 (previously trading as Shredmet Ltd) and Hawkeswood Metal Recycling (HMR), as well as directors Wayne Hawkeswood and Graham Woodhouse, were prosecuted for a host of safety failings linked to the deaths, the HSE said.
Hawkesood, the managing director of both companies, and Woodhouse, who was responsible for day-to-day operations, were each sentenced to nine months in jail at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, while HMR was fined £1m and Ensco £600,000.
The families of the dead men, four of whom were originally from Gambia and one from Senegal, described the company’s failures as “scandalous and inexcusable”.
The wall which collapsed – killing the men instantly – was made up of 30 concrete blocks, each the size of a domestic fridge-freezer and weighing the same as a large family car.
It was pushed over by a metal structure that was overloaded with 263 tonnes of metal briquettes – the equivalent to around six fully laden articulated lorries – in a neighbouring bay.
Image: (L-R) Victims Mahamadou Jagana, Bangally Dukuray, Almamo Jammeh, Ousman Diaby and Saibo Sillah. Pic: Health and Safety Executive
A judge was previously told that the structure was so close to toppling, a “breath of wind” could have brought it down.
Labourers Almamo Jammeh, 45, Ousman Diaby, 39, Bangally Dukuray, 55, Saibo Sillah, 42, and Mahamadou Jagana, 49, were pronounced dead at the scene on 7 July, 2016.
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Hawkeswood and Woodhouse had denied risking workers’ safety, but investigators later discovered other unstable walls on site, and said that poor safety records were kept, and staff training was basic.
All five victims had been working in Spain but came to the UK for better work prospects, where they were hired to work at Shredmet through an agency.
Image: Hawkeswood Metal Recycling, Birmingham. Pic: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
“I hope the families and friends of the men who died find some comfort in today’s sentencing,” Amy Kalay, HSE principal inspector, said after the trial.
“Their deaths should not have happened. They went to work to earn a wage; that cost them their lives.”
At the time of the incident, they had been working to clear waste ahead of an incoming load of scrapped aero engines.
The judge also made an order for £775,000 in prosecution costs.
