Weston's Cider worker Thomas Manns' widow pays tribute

Rosemary Manns said she would never forget the crash

The widow of a Weston's Cider worker says life won't ever be the same after her husband died in a van crash at the firm's premises on his 65th birthday.

The Herefordshire-based firm was fined £1.4m this week, after Thomas Manns was fatally injured on 28 September 2020.

Weston's bosses appeared in court to admit two breaches of health and safety law and apologised to Mr Manns' family.

But Rosemary Manns said she has not had an apology over the death of her "loveable and considerate" husband.

Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester, she said: "It's changed us all tremendously... life is never going to be the same."

As well as apologising, the firm described Mr Manns' death at its Ledbury office as a "tragic accident", when a partially-open security barrier speared his van's windscreen in the crash.

Thomas Manns died on his 65th birthday when a security barrier smashed through the windscreen of his van at Weston's Cider

As he fined the company on Thursday, district judge Ian Strongman likened the barrier to a medieval lance saying it was "an accident waiting to happen". The failures of the company "beggars belief", he added.

"It was sticking out at a 45-degree angle, give or take, about a metre off the ground - it would be difficult for any driver to see it," Mr Strongman told Kidderminster Magistrates' Court.

The Health and Safety Executive brought the prosecution after carrying out an investigation.

Mrs Manns said her husband, from Dymock, Gloucestershire, had not been due in work on the day he died, but had gone in to take the Weston's Cider van for an MOT

"He spoke to the grandchildren, they wished him happy birthday and he went off," she said.

The barrier, here pictured after investigators moved in, had been left in a partially open position

Mrs Manns, who also worked for Weston's Cider, said the company later called her and said Mr Manns had been involved in an accident.

When she got there, she was not allowed access to the site but could see her husband "slumped" over the steering wheel in the van.

Asked if she could forgive the company, she said: "Until someone from Weston's says, 'Sorry, we're accountable, it's negligence, it should never have happened', I don't think I ever will."

'Valued colleague'

In court, the firm's managing director Helen Thomas offered a "full and sincere apology" to the family, calling Mr Manns' death "heart-breaking" and "devastating".

Following the case, a spokesperson for Weston's Cider said: "We understand the court's ruling and have worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive following this tragic accident to ensure that nothing like this can happen again.

"Tommy was a much valued colleague and our thoughts remain with his family."