A cement importing company has been hit with a £1 million fine following the tragic death of an employee who was crushed by dangerous machinery. Dragon Alfa Cement Limited, based in Sharpness, Gloucestershire, was penalised after an investigation revealed critical safety failures that led to the incident in August 2021.
Martin Bennett, 35, was found trapped under a 1.6-tonne weight, part of equipment used to lift cement bags, at the company's site. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an inquiry which uncovered that a significant section of fencing designed to guard the machinery had been removed prior to Mr Bennett's death.
In a statement released after the company was fined, Mr Bennett's wife, Layla, paid tribute to her husband, describing him as a deeply kind individual who would always put others first. "He was kind, I mean right down to the very bones of him kind, he would always put himself last even if you didn't want him to," she said, adding that he would have given "the shirt off his back, last pound in his pocket, whatever you needed it was yours."
Dragon Alfa Cement Limited admitted guilt to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act at Bristol Magistrates' Court. In addition to the substantial fine, the company was also ordered to pay nearly £10,000 in costs. HSE Inspector Oliver Guiver emphasised that Mr Bennett's death was "an incident that should never have happened," highlighting the company's repeated failure to adequately guard dangerous machinery despite available safeguards.
The profound impact of the tragedy was also conveyed by one of Mr Bennett's daughters, who described how the news of her father's death, delivered by police officers at their door, has left her with lasting anxiety. The company, which is one of the UK's largest cement importers, reported profits close to £5 million in its most recent accounts for 2024.