Farming company fined over strangulation death

Alban Watts' mother said her son was an accomplished mechanic, joiner and carpenter

A farm company has been fined £50,000 after a man was strangled to death when his clothes became entangled in a hen feeding system.

Alban Watts, 61, died when his clothing caught on an unguarded sprocket at Bell Mount Farming Ltd in Penrith on 11 January 2023, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.

Inspectors found Bell Mount Farming failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery, adding "what was such an easy fault to fix cost a much-loved man his life".

His family told the HSE they were "angry that Alban's life was worth less than a 50p screw" and said "mere words cannot express the horror and distress" of his death.

His family said Mr Watts, who lived in the village of Blencow, had worked at the egg producer's site for 12 years and "enjoyed his job".

HSE investigators said Mr Watts had been working alone in one of the poultry sheds when his clothing came into contact with an unguarded sprocket, causing him to become entangled.

The guard designed to prevent access was not fixed in place and could be lifted off.

Inspectors also found bolt holes in the guard had been stripped, preventing it from being secured to the frame of the drive unit.

Inspectors said Alban Watts' clothing got caught in a hen feeding system

Mr Watts' family said: "We are angry that his life was worth less than a 50p screw... such a small item could have saved his life."

His mother Noreen said: "Mere words cannot express the horror and distress of hearing such an awful death and I can only hope Alban didn't suffer.

"I have now had to go through every parent's nightmare of surviving their own child, in tragic circumstances."

His siblings, Martin Watts and Louise Robinson, said: "Without Alban we are an incomplete unit."

Bell Mount Farming pleaded guilty to breaching provision and use of work equipment regulations.

The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £6,038 in costs at a hearing at Warrington Magistrates' Court on Thursday.