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Gruesome death was an accident

13/ 3/2003

A WORKER killed when a hydraulic door crashed down on his head died as the result of an accident, an inquest jury has ruled.

Dye maker Malcolm France was working at Sovereign Rubber Ltd on Carrington Field Street, Offerton, when the accident happened in October 2001.

The 57-year-old, known to his colleagues as 'Mr Safety' was attempting to remove pieces of rubber from the inside of a mixer when the hydraulic door crashed into his skull, the Stockport inquest heard.

The hearing was told the machine door had caused problems in the past and had even resulted in another worker having his finger lacerated.

It was also claimed that workers were under pressure to meet targets in order to earn bonus payments.

Following the hearing, a jury at the Stockport inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.

Bernard Watt, a process worker from Cheadle Heath, told the jury: "Malcolm's death was an accident waiting to happen."

But head engineer Kevin Perry said he was unaware of any extra pressure on the engineers.

Raymond Gray, quality and health and safety manager at Sovereign Rubber, said he knew there had been problems with the door but wasn't aware of how the seal was being cleaned.

Operator Mark Walsh told the coroner he discovered the body as he checked for the first batch of rubber to come through.

The inquest was also told that a key was missing from the safety mechanism and it was unclear whether or not a sign had been placed on the machine to warn others that maintenance was being carried out.