THE owners of a straw burning plant in Sutton have pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching health and safety law after a man was crushed to death at their premises in 2008.
THE owners of a straw burning plant in Sutton have pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching health and safety law after a man was crushed to death at their premises in 2008.
Appearing at Cambridge Crown Court last week, Energy Power Resources Ltd (EPR) - the owners of the Elean Power Station - pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to discharge its duty as described under the Health and Safety Act 1974.
The charges related to the death of father-of-three Gary Darnell at the EPR premises on the afternoon of September 16 2008.
The 53-year-old was unloading straw at the plant when a bale of straw fell from a crane and crushed him. Efforts by colleagues to remove the bale ultimately proved in vane and Mr Darnell was pronounced dead at the scene.
An inquest into the death held in 2009, the coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death but an investigation by the health and safety executive found that EPR had a case to answer.
According to its website, the Elean Power Station is the world’s largest straw burning power station, producing about 270 gigawatts of electricity a year which is enough to power thousands of homes.
At Cambridge Crown Court last week the case was adjourned until November 4 when representatives for the company will return for sentencing.
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