Boss cleared of manslaughter 12 years after fatality

Lauren Applebey

Simon Bromley, 45, the boss of a worker who was crushed to death in a concrete mixer has been cleared of manslaughter, but found guilty of breaching health and safety regulations. Sentencing relating to those breaches has been adjourned, however Mr Bromley was jailed for three years for drugs charges.

Mr Bromley claimed that he had cultivated and smoked cannabis to help him cope with the stress he suffered after his employee died at work.

Lee Balkwell, 33, suffered fatal injuries in 2002 at a farm in Upminster, east London after he and Mr Bromley had been inside the drum of the mixer trying to loosen hardening concrete.

It was alleged at Chelmsford Crown Court that after exiting the drum, Mr Balkwell became entangled on the outside of the machine and died after becoming trapped between the drum and chassis of the vehicle.

Detectives exhumed Mr Balkwell’s body from Corbets Tay cemetery last year in order to pursue evidence which was not developed in the hours after his death.

A jury found Mr Bromley guilty of failing to discharge his duty as an employer under health and safety regulations.

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