Royal Mail fined after Heathrow yard death
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ROYAL MAIL has been lined E90,000 after the death of an employee who was crushed between a tractor unit and trailer.
The Health and Safety Executive (1-ISE) brought the prOsecution following the death of yard shunter Colin Smith in September 2006 at the company's Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre, The incident happened when an HGV driver employed by the organisation reversed his tractor to line up with a trailer unit parked at a loading bay.
After lining up the vehicle, the driver left the cab and walked to the back of the unit to complete the manoeuvre, but found Smith had been trapped as he tried to remove a lock from the trailer.
Royal Mail was also ordered to pay costs of £42.549.56 after pleading guilty at Reading Crown Court to breaching section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
On 1 March, the driver, Ian Wheeler, was found not guilty of breaching section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Karl Howes, USE inspec says Royal Mail failed to as the risk to shunters working in yard, or to rectify the un5 system, and that these fad contributed to Mr Smith's deal