Peter Clifford, 63, was sentenced Tuesday at Ipswich Crown Court to eight years and 10 months in prison and banned from acting as a company director for 10 years. He had previously pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter.
Clifford's company, Hintonwood East Anglia, was contracted for an extension project at a home in Woodbridge. On December 15, 2020, a trench was dug along the side of a conservatory. A building inspector noted the trench was approximately 1.5 meters deep and that the existing structure had a basement. The inspector instructed Clifford to dig an inspection hole to determine the basement wall's location, which would dictate the required foundation type for the extension.
Instead, Clifford dug deeper into the trench. According to Suffolk Police, safety measures such as shuttering, a supporting frame to prevent collapse, were either not implemented or were inadequate. The investigation also revealed the trench was dug dangerously close to the conservatory, risking its foundations, and that Clifford took no action to support them. The trench was also not fenced off, posing a risk of falls.
Laborer Dale Baker, 30, suffocated when the trench collapsed on him and the conservatory's foundations. Clifford also pleaded guilty to two offenses under the Health and Safety at Work Act. His firm also pleaded guilty to two similar offenses.
Superintendent Mike Brown, the senior investigating officer, stated that Clifford "had failed in his duty as an employer to ensure the safety of the construction site and implement basic measures that would've prohibited a tragic incident such as this to occur." Brown added that Clifford's subsequent failure to appear in court and going on the run displayed "a level of contempt for Dale's family and the judicial process."
Richard Rajham, HM Inspector of Health & Safety at the Health and Safety Executive, emphasized the importance of planning for excavations. "Workers continue to die and be injured in collapsing excavations all of these could be avoided with proper planning and control measures," Rajham said.