Man jailed in connection with construction incident death in Woodbridge
Peter Clifford admitted he was responsible for the death of an employee following a construction incident in Woodbridge in 2020.
Last updated 15th Sep 2026
A man has been jailed after admitting responsibility for the death of one of his employees during a construction accident in 2020.
63-year-old Peter Clifford was sentenced to eight years and 10 months’ imprisonment at Ipswich Crown Court today (15th of September). He is also banned from acting as the director of a company for 10 years.
Clifford, of Holland Road, Felixstowe had previously pleaded guilty to the following offences:
- Gross negligence manslaughter;
- Failing to discharge the employer’s general duty under Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, (concerning the excavation of a trench and landscaping of the northern and western boundaries – in relation to risk to employees);
- Failing to discharge the employer’s general duty under Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, (concerning the landscaping of the northern and western boundaries – in relation to risk to neighbours).
A further two charges were also admitted by Hintonwood East Anglia Ltd, c/o Peter Clifford (Director), as follows:
-Failing to discharge the employer’s general duty under Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, (concerning the excavation of a trench and landscaping of the northern and western boundaries – in relation to risk to employees);
-Failing to discharge the employer’s general duty under Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, (concerning the landscaping of the northern and western boundaries – in relation to risk to neighbours).
At 4.30pm on Tuesday the 15th of December, police were called out to an address in Haughgate Close, where a man who was carrying renovation work was reported to have sustained serious injuries.
Other emergency services personnel also attended, but the man died at the scene. He was later identified as 30-year-old Dale Baker from Felixstowe.
The police undertook a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive to determine the circumstances leading to Dale’s death and whether Peter Clifford – as his employer – was culpable.
They found out that Clifford’s company – Hintonwood East Anglia – had been employed by the owners of the property in Woodbridge to build an extension.
Dale Baker was working for Clifford as a labourer along with another man. On the day of Dale’s death, a trench was dug along the side of a conservatory attached to the house.
A building inspector came out to look at the works, at which time the trench was approximately 1.5 metres deep. On being informed the existing structure had a basement, the inspector told Clifford an inspection hole would need to be dug to see where the basement wall was. This would determine what type of foundation was needed for the extension. As a result, Clifford then dug down deeper in the trench.
Police say that when a trench such as this is dug, essential health and safety measures are required to ensure that it does not collapse. The main way that this is achieved is via ‘shuttering’, where a supporting frame is used to ensure the trench sides do not collapse.
According to the investigation's findings, Clifford either took no steps to support the side of the trench, or took steps that were completely inadequate. It was also determined that the trench had been dug dangerously close to the conservatory creating a risk of undermining it. Clifford took no action to support the conservatory's foundations.
Furthermore, it was found that Clifford took no steps to implement another essential health and safety measure by fencing-off the trench and preventing people from falling in.
Dale Baker was killed after the side of the trench collapsed on him, followed by the foundations of the conservatory. According to a post-mortem examination, his cause of death was determinded to be suffocation.
Clifford was first charged in October 2024 and summonsed to appear before magistrates the following month on the 15th of November 2024.
He was then bailed pending a hearing at Ipswich Crown Court on the 20th of March 2025 which he failed to attend and the court subsequently issued an arrest warrant for him.
Clifford then failed to attend a further hearing on the 4th of April 2025. Later that same day Suffolk Constabulary circulated him to the media as a wanted person. He remained at large for three months before he was found in Scotland and arrested on the 9th of July 2025.
Superintendent Mike Brown, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: “Dale Baker’s family have had to wait almost six years to see justice served for their loved one - a process that Peter Clifford has deliberately impeded."
“Clifford could have admitted his obvious responsibility for Dale’s death much earlier than he did. It was clear that he had failed in his duty as an employer to ensure the safety of the construction site and implement basic measures that would’ve prohibited a tragic incident such as this to occur."
“To then compound matters by failing to appear at court and going on the run displayed a level of contempt for Dale’s family and the judicial process."
“This was a joint investigation with the Health & Safety Executive, whose assistance was vital in gathering the evidence and enabling us to bring a strong case to the Crown Prosecution Service who ultimately approved the charges. I would like to extend my thanks to the HSE, the CPS and the other expert witnesses who were all vital in helping to achieve the convictions in this case."
Richard Rajham, HM Inspector of Health & Safety at the Health & Safety Executive, said: “The tragic death of Dale Baker again shows the importance of planning to ensure that proper precautions are taken to control the risks from work in and around excavations."
“Workers continue to die and be injured in collapsing excavations all of these could be avoided with proper planning and control measures.”