Two South Holland companies have been fined more than £300,000 after a Holbeach teenager was killed on a building site in 2018.
Managers at both P&R Plant Hire, of Holbeach, and D. Brown Ltd, Moulton Seas End, were sentenced to suspended jail terms at a hearing on Tuesday morning.
The two managers and the main contractor were convicted of health and safety breaches after a trial in May.
Josh (18), was employed as a groundworker when he was run over while in a manhole by a van driven by a workmate.
He was 16 days into the job when he was sent to White Bridges site in Boston with a colleague, the court heard there was no risk assessment or adequate training.
Josh (pictured) took the job while waiting for his exam results to see if he could join the RAF. After he died, the results showed he would have been able to start with the service in January 2019.
Brent Woods (60), a construction manager for P&R Plant Hire was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail suspended for two years. He must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £1,200.
Judge Catalina Sjolin Knight said events started when he sent two untrained men on a job with no risk assessment or safety equipment.
“Neither of these young men had been trained on street work,” she said.
His failures were aggravated when he removed documents from his office three times after Josh died.
“You were looking after yourself,” the judge told him.
D. Brown Ltd, the main contractor on the site, was fined £300,000 and must pay costs of £15,000. Both must be settled within five years.
Darrell Tripp (60), who was site manager, was sentenced to eight weeks suspended for two years after Judge Sjolin Knight accepted his culpability was lower that Woods. He must pay £1,200 costs.
The judge said that while Tripp was well-regarded and tried to stop the driver when he realised what was about to happen, “an eye had been taken off the ball” towards the end of the project.
P&R Plant Hire admitted failing to discharge their health and safety duty and were fined £24,000 and ordered to pay £2,264 in costs.
Judge Sjolin Knight acknowledged any sentence would be disproportionate to the loss suffered by Josh’s family and said it was clear there had been no foolish behaviour by Josh or his colleague.
“This was two young men wanting to get on and do their job,” she said.
Craig Hassall QC, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said Josh and his colleague were told to clean drains on the new estate.
Work was nearly completed when Josh was trapped while still in a manhole and a van was moved.
The colleague drove Josh to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston and then went with him to Nottingham where he was transferred.
Mr Hassall said some systems had been put in place by both companies but “the abandonment of those procedures cost Josh Disdel his life.’
His mum, Fiona-Jane Lobley (pictured above) said she can’t move on.
Mitigating for Woods, Shauna Ritchie told the court: “He will live with that regret for the rest of his life.”
She argued that Woods removing documents was out of fear, rather than a desire to obstruct investigations.
Jim Buchanan, mitigating for D Brown, said Josh’s death was ‘of great regret’ to the company which had donated more than £50,000 to local charities.
He said the company had put in place significant rules and plans prior to Josh’s death.
“Had those rules be followed we wouldn’t be here,” he said.
Mitigating for Tripp, Marc Balysz said it had been ‘one mistake in an otherwise unblemished career’ and he had continued running safe sites.
“His overwhelming concern is that he does not receive a sentence of immediate imprisonment,” said Mr Balysz.
In a moving impact statement to the court, Josh’s mother described the day her son died.
“I had a bad feeling that day and I didn’t know why,” she said.
She had rushed to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham when Josh was transferred and was initially told there was hope. But she collapsed when told Josh had died.
“I felt angry about not being able to speak to Josh or say goodbye,” she said.
“It’s so long since it happened, but I can’t move on.”
She told the court that ‘most days’ it felt like she was the one serving a prison sentence and expressed her hope that the defendants ‘feel the loss I feel.’
“They didn’t look after him. They threw him in at the deep end,” said Fiona, of Brant Broughton.
“I came to the trial every day and I feel I have wasted my time,” she said after sentence was passed.
Speaking before the case, Fiona told how she had spoken to Josh who called her when he was on the way to hospital.
He later lost consciousness before dying.
She had battled to try and get the case heard earlier as Josh died in 2018, but she was told in April 2021 that it would be another year.
“It shouldn’t take four years. I was given no information unless I have chased and chased for it. The lack of communication has been appalling,” she told The Voice last year.
“God forbid that this should happen to anyone else and they have to wait this long for a trial,” she said.
In his statement to the court, Josh’s father Terry Disdel said he had contacted a director at P&R Plant Hire about his concerns over the lack of training for his son, but Josh had asked him to back-off.
He said the teenager had a loving girlfriend and should have been joining the RAF to embark on his career.
He described rushing to the hospital and only being able to kiss his son goodbye.
“Josh was my everything. We weren’t just father and son, we had a special connection,” he said.
