The operators of one of Britain’s most iconic stately homes have been fined £266,000 and ordered to pay costs of £16,863 after a butler was crushed to death by a lift.  The luggage lift was being used to move guests’ bags from the ground to second floor in the private area of the house when one of the bags became jammed and the lift stopped. The butler attempted to free the jammed bags but the lift descended on him, trapping him between the lift cage and the banister of the stairwell housing the lift. Examination of the lift showed that it had not been fitted with a slack rope detector.

The operator of a Cornish waste management facility has been fined £180,000 and ordered to pay £325,000 costs after pleading guilty to 6 offences under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 including failure to comply with leachate level limits specified by an environmental permit, allowing leachate to overflow from a leachate extraction point, unauthorised emissions of contaminated water, failure to comply with water quality emission limits, failing to notify the Environment Agency and causing odour pollution.

The sentencing hearing marked the end of a lengthy and complex investigation lasting four years. The costs awarded by the court reflected the work that went into investigating and prosecuting this complicated technical case.

The Environment Agency has accepted an offer of £160,000 for an enforcement undertaking from a major brewer following a pollution incident at a cider factory in Hereford, which saw several thousand fish killed.  The company also paid more than £12,000 to cover the Environment Agency’s legal costs.

The incident which occurred in August 2014, was caused when a container of ammonia-contaminated water was emptied to a surface water drain which connected to the Widemarsh Brook. At the time it was estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 fish were killed including bullhead, minnows, juvenile chub and dace.