Company fined after 6 year-old's death
Ordered to pay £50,000
A company has been sentenced to a fine of £50,000 after a six-year-old girl died when she became trapped in an electronic gate. Cheshire Gates and Automation Limited pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to corporate manslaughter for the death of Semelia Campbell.
Today Cheshire Gates and Automation Limited was sentenced to a fine of £50,000 and were made the subject of a publicity order- which means they have to inform people of the sentence. The incident happened in June when police were called to Maine Road, Manchester to reports of a child trapped in an electronic gate. On arrival officers discovered that six-year-old Semelia Campbell had been trapped between the gate and a retaining wall and found the electronic gate was stuck fast in the closed position. After considerable efforts by the family and the emergency services, Semelia was freed and taken to hospital. She never regained consciousness and sadly later died. Greater Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team and the Health and Safety Executive conducted a joint investigation and it was established that the actions of Cheshire Gates and Automation Limited directly led to Semelia’s death. The installation of the gate had been carried out by Kearns and one of his employees. The investigation established that Kearns had personally automated the gate opening and closing mechanism. The gate should have been automated and tested to ensure that it would stop and back off when it detected an obstruction, but the programming carried out by Kearns had effectively over-ridden the built-in safety features so the gate just kept closing with a force of more than a quarter of a ton. This meant that the gate was dangerous to anyone who used it. Detective Superintendent Peter Marsh of Greater Manchester Police said: “A beautiful, lively little girl has lost her life in very tragic circumstances, and her family have lost a much loved daughter and sister. I cannot begin to express the sadness and trauma that Semelia’s family have gone through since her tragic death. “There are no winners in this sad case. Semelia's death was totally avoidable, the reckless actions of Cheshire Gates and Automation Limited and their failure to comply with basic safety regulations turned a piece of machinery meant to keep people safe into a lethal weapon. “The investigation and subsequent prosecution has been long and complex, however it has been thorough and showed where the responsibility truly lay. “The consequence was that it has taken Semelia's family five long years to finally see justice done, and I have nothing but admiration for the patience and understanding they have shown in dealing with this difficult investigation, when they have obviously been devastated at the loss of Semelia.” Semelia’s family has said: “No mother should have to witness their child die the way I did. “The pain my family and I have endured during this very long investigation is indescribable and I pray that no other family will ever have to experience the same pain. “The evidence presented in this case show with overwhelming conclusion that what happened to my Semelia could have been prevented, had the proper safety protocols been adhered to. “Whilst it is of some comfort that Cheshire gates have been held accountable for their actions, I will never forget the fear in my daughters eyes or the urine running down her feet when she was trapped in that gate. “My memories of Semelia have forever been tainted by the events of 28 June 2010. “I hope that other corporations and businesses will learn from this incident and take the necessary steps in order to prevent other such tragedies, because although today Cheshire gates have been brought to justice it is my family and I that have paid the ultimate price. “I'd like to thank the CPS for their dedication to seeking justice for my daughter and the support and kind words received from family, friends and others all over Manchester.”