Boss Guilty Over Apple 'Scuba Diving' Deaths

A man has been convicted of the manslaughter of two fruit-packing employees he asked to "scuba dive" into a storage unit.

Andrew Stocker, 57, was found guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court after the deaths of Scott Cain, 23, and Ashley Clarke, 24.

The men were both found unconscious on top of crates of apples on 18 February 2013.

The court found that Stocker, of Whitehill, Bordon, Hampshire, had ignored health and safety regulations.

He had encouraged staff to use the "dangerous" procedure whereby they would go into the apple storage unit without breathing apparatus.

Mark Dennis QC, prosecuting, told the trial that Stocker, on holiday in the Maldives at the time of the incident, had instructed Mr Cain to collect the fruit while he was away to be entered in the Marden Fruit Show in Kent.

Mr Dennis said Stocker encouraged "scuba diving", where staff entered storage units through a hatch in the roof and held their breath while going into the cramped conditions to get the fruit.

The air in the sealed units had oxygen levels cut to 1% so the fruit could be preserved and anyone who ran out of breath while inside would die immediately, the court heard.

Mr Dennis said that, despite knowing the risks, Stocker encouraged the method, adding: "In doing so, he breached his duty of care to the two young men who died and his breach amounted to gross negligence and that directly led to the tragic loss of two lives."

Mr Cain had been engaged to be married to Filipa Turner, the mother of his young child, and Mr Clarke was to marry partner Rachel Higgins. Both women gave evidence in court.

Mr Justice Akenhead said he would forward case notes to the fruit packing industry "to make sure these very sad events do not occur again, if at all possible".

"I think it's possible the apple and fruit storage industry to an extent is not aware of some of the dangers this case has thrown up in such stark form."

Blackmoor Estate Ltd in Liss, owned by Tory peer Lord Selborne, had already entered guilty pleas to three counts of contravening regulations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and not guilty to a fourth.

These related to failing to provide adequate emergency plans and having insufficient risk assessments.

The judge said Stocker and the estate will be sentenced on 1 July, adding a warning to Stocker that he was considering all options, including a jail sentence.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Clarke's father, Ian Clarke, from Emsworth, said: "We are quite upset that someone could put someone's lives at risk to collect apples for a competition. For me, it doesn't make sense, it's beyond belief.

"I do not think he's a bad man but he's left us without a son."