Manager avoids prison after worker buried alive – but firms fined more than £1m

Manager avoids prison after worker buried alive – but firms fined more than £1m Contracts manager Anthony O’Connor, 42, has avoided prison after Gheorghita Arsene, 33, was buried alive on a construction site in Surrey - but two firms have received a hefty fine A contracts manager has avoided immediate prison after a labourer was buried alive on a construction site, while two firms have been fined more than £1million over his death. Gheorghita Arsene, 33, who was known as Geo, died when a deep trench collapsed on top of him, covering him in soil as he worked in Banstead, Surrey on June 24 2020. Contracts manager Anthony O’Connor, 42, of Romford, Essex, previously pleaded guilty to failing to discharge his duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He was sentenced to 10 months in custody, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. Judge Judy Khan KC said O’Connor had “actual foresight” of the risk of harm. 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, the Old Bailey heard. John McGuinness KC had told jurors: “The prosecution case is that George’s death was entirely avoidable. It should never have happened.” Following a trial at the Old Bailey lasting more than three months, principal contractor Appledorn Developments Limited and T Vaughan Limited were found guilty of a health and safety charge of failing to discharge their duties. Judge Khan fined the now-defunct Appledorn £500,000, saying there had been “cost-cutting at the expense of safety”. T Vaughan Limited (TVL) was fined £650,000 plus £40,000 in costs, with the judge allowing the firm six years to pay. She said the company had systems in place but they had not been sufficiently implemented. 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.” Previously, a jury deliberated for 73 hours and 28 minutes and was discharged after failing to reach a verdict in relation to a charge of manslaughter against O’Connor. Site manager Peter Wraith, 54, from New Waltham in Lincolnshire, was cleared of manslaughter and assistant site manager Gregory Peake, 51, from Bromley in south-east London, was acquitted of failing to discharge his health and safety duty. This is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link . You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage .