A BRIERLEY Hill logistics firm has been fined £1.5 million following the death of an HGV driver who was trapped between his vehicle and a trailer.

Dudley Magistrates Court heard how Tuffnells Parcels Express Limited employee Leighton Jardine was fatally injured on January 22, 2016, whilst attempting to attach a trailer to his vehicle.

The trailer had been parked on a slight slope at The Wallows Industrial Estate, which was enough to allow it to roll forward and crush the 60-year-old from Stafford.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found safety management arrangements for coupling trailers to vehicles failed to take account of the slope.

Tuffnells pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and in addition to the fine, was ordered to pay costs of £32,823.35 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Karl Raw said: “Had Tuffnells taken the slope into account, simple measures could have been taken that would have prevented this incident.

"Workplace transport remains a high risk environment, and this case serves as a reminder to industry that assessments of sites should be specific and identify the hazards unique to each yard.

"It is also a reminder that the slope a vehicle is parked on does not need to be steep for incidents to occur.

“This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to adopt robust management action in both planning and monitoring of the workplace and workplace actions at this site.”