Firms fined more than £1 million over death of worker buried alive in ditch
A 33-year-old was crushed when a deep trench caved in on a construction site in Surrey
Two firms have been fined more than £1 million over the “horrifying” death of a labourer who was buried alive in a ditch.
Gheorghita Arsene, 33, who was known as Geo, was crushed when a deep trench collapsed on top of him, covering him in soil, as he worked on a construction site in Banstead, Surrey, on June 24 2020.
Following a three-month trial at the Old Bailey, principal contractor Appledorn Developments Limited and T Vaughan Limited (TVL) were found guilty of a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Contracts manager Anthony O’Connor, 42, of Romford, Essex, pleaded guilty to the same health and safety charge of failing to discharge his duties.
On Monday, Judge Judy Khan KC fined the now-defunct Appledorn £500,000, saying there had been “cost-cutting at the expense of safety”.
TVL was fined £650,000 plus £40,000 in costs, with the judge saying the firm had systems in place but they were not sufficiently implemented.
The judge allowed TVL six years to pay.
O’Connor was sentenced to 10 months in custody suspended for 18 months plus 150 hours’ unpaid work, with the judge saying he had “actual foresight” of the risk of harm.
Judge Khan said: “On the 24 June 2020 Gheorghita Arsene was fatally crushed as he worked on an unsupported deep trench on a construction site.
“The loss of his life was a terrible tragedy, particularly as it was totally avoidable.”
Mr Arsene’s mother, Ienuta Arsene, attended the sentencing hearing by videolink from Romania.
In a statement, she described her son as a “good man” who sought to support his family.
He had phoned her on the day of the fatal accident and said he was working on a deep trench and was afraid it would collapse.
Despite her reservations, he reassured her that “nothing would happen” and it would “soon be over”, the court heard.
On the impact of his death, she said: “Nothing is the same any more. I have a depression that is eating me away and a constant feeling of loneliness.
“Everyone in the family was devastated by Gheorghita’s death.”
She described a close relationship with her son who she donated a kidney to when he had suffered renal failure.
A Health and Safety Executive spokesperson said: “Gheorghita Arsene’s death was as horrifying as it was preventable.”
The court had heard how the accident happened at a site in Park Road where an old care home had been demolished to make way for a new purpose-built care home.
The victim had been working to replace a damaged pipe at the bottom of the 10ft-deep trench which had been dug with a three-tonne digger.
He had been clearing soil with a shovel and pickaxe when without warning one or more of the trench walls collapsed.
His co-worker on a digger had shouted a warning but Mr Arsene took only a couple of steps before he was covered in earth.
His colleague ran for help and desperate attempts were made to get him out and clear away soil from his face and body.
Fire and ambulance crews were called to the scene but paramedics’ efforts to revive the Romanian national were hampered by the weight of the soil around him and difficulties in digging him out.
As Mr Arsene could not be removed from the trench it was not possible to carry out chest compressions and he was pronounced dead at 2.44pm, an hour after the accident happened.
Health and safety inspectors found there were no supports to the trench and the excavated soil had been deposited right next to it.
Mitigating for O’Connor, Mark Balysz KC said his client was sorry for the tragedy of Mr Arsene’s death and his role in it.
“He clearly regrets the catastrophic mistake he made in allowing the work to continue in relation to the excavation,” Mr Balysz said.
O’Connor was TVL’s most senior representative on site on the day of the fatal incident.
Mitigating for TVL, Prashant Popat KC said: “This incident has been taken most seriously by TVL.
“In the days after the incident TVL and everyone in the company from the top down were deeply troubled and affected by Mr Arsene’s death.”
The barrister said the firm, founded by Thomas Vaughan in 2010, retained an ethos of a “small close-knit family-run company” and everything was done “as safely as possible” with spending of nearly £3 million on health and safety.
He argued that TVL’s failings were less than those of Appledorn and it was an isolated incident.
Appledorn, which was not represented in court, went into liquidation in 2023 with assets registered the year before of £2.5 million.
In its statement, the HSE said Mr Arsene lost his life because “basic precautions were not in place to protect workers from the well-known risks that come with excavation work”.
The HSE stated: “Anthony O’Connor had observed workers in the trench without adequate protection and was aware of the measures required to prevent a collapse.
“This case is a stark reminder that when basic safety standards are ignored, the consequences can be fatal.
“Companies and individuals alike have legal duties to protect workers and where they fail to do so, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action.
“Our thoughts today are with Mr Arsene’s loved ones, as they mourn their loss.”