The owner of a building firm has been jailed for 18 months after he was found guilty of the manslaughter of two workers.
Brian Dean, of Stoke-on-Trent, was convicted of the manslaughter of Michael Redgate, 46, and his son Carl Redgate, 18, who died on 23 July 2000 while working for Dean. They were killed after a walk-in kiln they were demolishing collapsed. Dean denied manslaughter.

Dean was also found guilty of a safety offence under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act.

Dean's client, Daniel Platt of Tunstall, Stoke, was fined £125,000 for failing to appoint a planning supervisor and ignoring health and safety issues. The case followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and local police.

  • The HSE has also conducted a week-long safety blitz in Scotland and the North. Action was taken at more than half the sites visited.