A REFUSE company has been fined £130,000 after a Wycombe man died when a bin fell on his head.

David Ives, 56, was working for Veolia ES (UK) Ltd - formerly known as Onyx UK Ltd – when he was killed collecting rubbish outside The Mole & Chicken pub in Easington, near Aylesbury, on May 5, 2004.

Aylesbury Crown Court heard that a recycling bin fell from the bin hoist on the recycling lorry and landed on Mr Ives’ head, killing him.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted Veolia ES (UK) Ltd, which is based in Pentonville Road, London, over the incident.

A jury yesterday found the company guilty of breaching health and safety rules.

It was ordered to pay costs of £220,000 on top of the £130,000 fine.

His family, who live in Micklefield, today declined to comment.

In the same trial, Brian Currie Milton Keynes Ltd of Norfolk House Centre, Milton Keynes, was found not guilty of breaching section 3(1) of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act.

Dennis MacWilliam, HSE inspector, said: “This was an extremely tragic incident which has now left Mr Ives’ widow to continue life without a loving husband. It could have been avoided if only a few simple measures had been in place.

“Employers are legally required to make sure their equipment is regularly maintained and is fit for use by their workers. If the bin hoist on the recycling lorry had been maintained this incident would never have happened.”

Richard Berry, executive director of Veolia Environmental Services, said: “We deeply regret the death of an employee, David Ives, whilst working on our Chiltern municipal contract over five years ago in May 2004.

“No workplace accident is acceptable. Both legally and morally we have an obligation to take all reasonable steps to prevent such accidents.

“At the time we had many safeguards in place, but the jury has concluded that in this particular case our efforts did not meet the high standard required.”

He said the firm has ‘invested significantly in training and equipment to reduce accidents’ over the last five years and to ‘develop a culture of environmental and safety awareness’.

It had a ‘continually improving safety record’ she said.

“Right from the top of our organisation we are committed to ensuring we maintain and improve workplace safety for both our employees and the public every single day.”