Belfast City Council is to stand trial over the death of a man at a landfill site, it has been confirmed this month.
In an unprecedented action, the council is being prosecuted for allegedly failing to ensure the safety of waste disposal worker Ashley Cunningham. Mr Cunningham was killed during an incident in September 2006 as he helped dump rubbish for a private contractor at the council's Dargan Road premises. The 39 year old is believed to have asphyxiated.
At the time the council operated a facility where commercial waste disposal firms had a contract or paid gate fees to gain access to its landfill site. A prosecution was brought against them by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) and they face two charges of failing to ensure the health and safety of an outside worker and failing to have in place a suitable and sufficient risk assessment at the time of the death.
