Unlawful death verdict on Royal Mint worker who fell into furnace

A Royal Mint worker crushed by a plummeting six-ton furnace was unlawfully killed, an inquest jury decided yesterday.

John Wynne, 51, was killed when a 15ft-tall bell furnace slipped off a crane hook and fell 14 feet. The furnace had been precariously perched on the tip of the crane hook, which was bent out of shape, the inquest in Merthyr Tydfil was told.

Mr Wynne, of Gilfachgoch, in the Rhondda Valley, died in June 2001at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales. Health and safety inspectors found that a vital safety indicator on the side of the furnace was broken. Later, they learnt that crane operators had routinely ignored it because they did not know what it was for.

Mr Wynne's widow, Catrina Wynne, 47, and her daughter Joann, 24, both called for the Royal Mint's immunity from prosecution to be stripped away after the inquest.

A seven-strong jury initially recorded a verdict of unlawful killing after a three-hour inquest, although Philip Walters, the Bridgend and Glamorgan Valleys coroner, had directed them towards a verdict of accidental death, saying they were not being asked to consider one of unlawful killing.

He then sent them back to reconsider the verdict after saying they should be convinced there had been "such disregard for the life and safety of others as to amount to a crime against the state". The jury then recorded a 6-1 majority verdict of unlawful killing, having been directed to consider an open verdict and one of accidental death as well.

Earlier, Mr Wynne's colleague Jeffrey Luckey told the inquest he had been operating the crane from ground level by remote control when the accident happened.

He said he was unable to see the crane hook and relied on a top flap "coming up" on the furnace to see when the crane was properly engaged.

He had no knowledge of a "tell-tale" safety tab fitted to the side of the furnace, which was designed to lift to show when the hook was properly in place. He said he had never received any training in the operation of the crane and never knew about the operator's manual.

Managers agreed they relied on a "cascade effect" where the knowledge of one operator was assumed to be passed on to others.

From now on, The task in question was now carried out from a raised platform where the crane hook is visible.