T J Morris has been fined £50,000 for failing to provide a full risk assessment for lorry deliveries at its Dudley store, where one of its drivers was fatally crushed.

 

However, the company, which operates 400 stores under the name of Home Bargains, made a guilty plea on the basis that its failings were not responsible for the death of Gary Pickering in September 2013. 

 

The 34-year-old from Swinton in Manchester was making a delivery to the Churchill Precinct store’s delivery area. He was in the process of moving the tail lift of the lorry into position at the loading platform when it closed onto his neck head, trapping him between the mechanism and the back of the lorry. 

 

His body was discovered approximately two hours after the accident by a security guard conducting patrols at the centre.

 

Dudley Council brought the prosecution against T J Morris, which was heard at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

 

The company also agreed to pay prosecution costs of £150,000.