Two companies have been fined a combined £2.4 million following the deaths of two sub-contractors at a poultry processing plant, in a case that has raised serious concerns over industrial safety standards.
Jonathan Collins, 34, and Neil Moon, 49, arrived at a Norfolk chicken factory for routine pest control work. Both were found dead inside a refrigerated unit, killed by a oxygen-depleted atmosphere in a narrow passageway on the site.
Their 2018 deaths prompted a six-year investigation into safety procedures at the site.
In court, the companies involved – Banham Poultry Limited and Air Products Plc – admitted breaching health and safety laws. Prosecutors said their failures directly contributed to the deaths.
Although both firms had originally faced charges of corporate manslaughter, those charges were dropped after guilty pleas were entered for lesser offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Failures of this kind can and do cost lives
Norfolk Crown Court heard that critical safety measures were not properly enforced, exposing workers to potentially dangerous conditions. While early investigations considered the possibility of a refrigeration gas leak, the exact sequence of events leading to the deaths has never been fully clarified.
Sentencing the companies, the judge highlighted the seriousness of the failings and the devastating consequences for the victims’ families. The fines, totalling £2.4 million, reflect the scale of the breaches and the need to deter similar incidents across the industry, they said.
The case has renewed calls for stricter oversight of safety practices in food production facilities, particularly where subcontracted workers may face heightened risks.
A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive said the tragedy underscored the importance of robust safety systems, adding that ‘failures of this kind can and do cost lives’.
