Brian Finch trading as F E Finch Coaches was sentenced after a father-of-three, Wayne Lannon, was fatally crushed whilst working underneath a double decker bus.
On 14 June 2017, Wayne Lannon, an employee of Brian Finch, was carrying out repairs underneath a double decker bus in the car park of Chester Zoo. The bus was supported by a hydraulic bottle jack, and on top of this, Mr Lannon had placed some wooden blocks underneath the stationary bus. The bus rolled backwards off the bottle jack, trapping Mr Lannon under the bus causing him to sustain fatal injuries.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation revealed that the company did not have a safe system of work put in place for preventing the bus from moving. The parking brake had not been applied, and the bus was not chocked prior to Mr Lannon working underneath the bus.
Employer Brian Finch had failed to provide the proper training and instructions to Mr Lannon in both the venture of mechanical work, or in the safe lifting of vehicles, as well as about the types of repairs that were suitable to be made outside of the workshop.
At Crew Magistrates' Court Brian Finch pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was sentenced to six months in custody, suspended for 18 months. He is also subject to a curfew for 30 weeks and ordered to pay the full costs of £9,381.
Wayne's sister, Keeley Unsworth described how the loss of Wayne had left both his family and friends with 'shattered hearts'. She said: "Our brother was the greatest person. He was the perfect brother. Wayne always believed in speaking kindly, always believed in helping others. We are deeply saddened. His children will never feel or hear him again... we have no idea how we carry on, how we cope, how we live with the pain we are in."
HSE inspector Lianne Farrington commented: "This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of Mr Finch to ensure there were adequate control measures in place, such as chocking the bus, and to implement safe systems of work. Had the company ensured that proper control measures were in place, Mr Lannon would not have lost his life."
