Cheshire wood mill and one of its directors are charged with manslaughter over an explosion that killed four people in 2015
- Wood Treatment Limited is charged with corporate manslaughter, CPS say
- It follows an explosion at a wood flour mill in Bosley in 2015 causing 4 deaths
- A director, George Boden, is charged with gross negligence manslaughter
Wood Treatment Limited has been charged with corporate manslaughter after four people were killed in an explosion at a wood flour mill in 2015, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
One of its directors, George Boden, was also charged with gross negligence manslaughter following the incident in Bosley, Cheshire, the CPS added.
Jenny Hopkins, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: ‘Following explosions at a wood flour mill in Bosley on Friday 17 July 2015 which led to the death of four people and injuries to a number of others, the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised charges.
The scene at Wood Flour Mills in Bosley, near Macclesfield, after an explosion, 17 July 2015
Wood Treatment Ltd has been charged with four offences of corporate manslaughter (pictured: The mill following the explosions)
‘Cheshire Police has been authorised by the CPS to charge Wood Treatment Limited with corporate manslaughter, and George Boden, one of its directors, with gross negligence manslaughter.
‘The company, Mr Boden, and two others who were managers for the company, have also been charged with health and safety offences.
‘These decisions were made following a careful review of all of the evidence presented to us by Cheshire Police as a result of their lengthy and complex joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive.’
Search and rescue teams from all emergency services search the scene of the explosion and fire
Wood Treatment Ltd has been charged with four offences of corporate manslaughter, relating to the deaths of Dorothy Bailey, Derek Barks, Derek Moore and Jason Shingler.
It also faces one charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees in breach of section 2(1) the Health and Safety Act at Work Act 1974.
George Boden is charged with four offences of manslaughter by gross negligence, relating to the deaths of Dorothy Bailey, Derek Barks, Derek Moore and Jason Shingler, and one offence in breach of sections 2(1) and 37(1) of the Health and Safety Act at Work Act 1974.
Philip Smith and Peter Shingler are both charged with committing an offence in breach of sections 2(1) and 37(1) of the Health and Safety Act at Work Act 1974.
The defendants are due to appear at Stockport Magistrates’ Court on 2 December 2019.