Daventry Rail Freight Terminal Found Guilty of Negligence

W.H. Malcolm fined £6.5 million for death of 11-year-old boy

WH Malcolm, the company that runs Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal in the Midlands must pay £6.5m after a court found it guilty of negligence over the death of an 11-year-old boy at the depot, near Rugby.

Boy died when he attempted to retrieve a football

The Company was found guilty of negligence earlier this month after Harrison Ballantyne was fatally electrocuted on a stationary freight wagon he climbed onto to retrieve a football. On June 27, 2017, Harrison and five friends, climbed over a wooden fence next to a bridleway between Crick and Kilsby to access the 'head shunt' area of Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) to get their ball.

Harrison, a pupil of Guilsborough Academy, climbed onto the wagon and into contact with overhead wires carrying 25,000 volts and suffered fatal electrical burns. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the other boys was following Harrison onto the wagon before he was electrocuted.

The rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) charged the company with two offences – the first under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the second under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.

Previous inspection

During the trial, the court heard how WH Malcolm had repeatedly been warned about trespassing issues in that area. An inspection ahead of a visit by its insurers recommended installing fencing and carrying out a risk assessment as long ago as 2013. Despite getting a quote for £4,015 for the fencing, no work was carried out as bosses thought it was too expensive.

After another trespassing incident in 2015, a fence was installed on the north side of the nearby bridge but none to the south side which did not solve the issue.

“Judge Lucking said it was 'inexplicable' that the site's boundary was not secured and WH Malcolm had 'failed' to make the appropriate changes, describing the firm as having a 'culture of cost-cutting.'”

Failure to assess risk

The ORR’s investigation found WH Malcolm had both failed to assess the risk of unauthorised access to the terminal, and also failed to implement appropriate measures to prevent unauthorised access to a busy freight area with overhead line equipment energised at 25,000 volts. This meant that freight wagons could be accessed by trespassers.

In a trial which lasted three weeks, the court heard how the rail freight terminal operator regularly positioned freight wagons beneath electrified lines for long periods, despite the presence of a number of unelectrified sidings.

“Only the day before Harrisons death, children were seen playing football in the 'head shunt' area by a passing train driver, which was reported to police.”

Traumatised pupils

Several of Harrison friends witnessed the tragedy and as a result, have suffered mental health problems. Some have dropped out of school and have being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and behavioral issues.

One of the boys, who was just 12 at the time, said in a statement: "Since the accident it has taken me a long time to get over it, I struggled to sleep and make friends at school. My foster home broke down because of the impact of the accident. Harrison was my best friend. I miss going to places with him, he was a big part of my life and I saw him daily at school before this accident."

Heartbroken parents

In a statement, Harrison's mother said she would often break down in tears if someone asked her about Harrison or how many children she has. Her other son refuses to talk about what happened and she dreads having to one day explain it to his two-year-old sister.

Mrs Ballantyne said; "The damage he sustained was nothing less than horrific and no counselling or tablets will help this - it will haunt me forever."