Delivery Man Dies After Fork-Lift Tragedy
Nantwich driver fined £600
Report by
Jason Farrington

A forklift truck driver has been fined after an accident, which left a deliveryman dead.
Jonathan Minshull, of St. Mary’s Road, Nantwich, should have been driving his forklift backwards while carrying a load of washing machines.
Instead he drove it forwards and did not see the deliveryman, who was then struck by the truck and later died, from his injuries.
At a court hearing in Northwhich, Mr. Minshull was fined £600 for failing to take reasonable care.
Mr. Minshull’s employers, Winsford distribution firm Thom Homeserve Ltd. Was fined £8,000 for lack of safety procedures.
The court was told how Thom Homeserve Ltd. Had changed the routes of its forklift truck operators just a week before the accident on October 1, 1995.
Prosecutor Trevor Jones said that forklift truck drivers should be reassessed every 12 or 18 months, yet the last time Mr. Minshull had been tested was 21 months earlier.
The prosecution was sparked after Vale Royal Borough Council environmental officers inspected the site following the accident.
Defending Mr. Minshull David Lewis said: "My client is very concerned that this happened and expresses his condolences to the family.
"It’s a question he has asked himself a hundred times - why he went forward? He doesn’t know why he did. He can’t explain it."
Defending the company, Tim Norlock said that it reviewed its safety procedures and introduced a number of new measures including high visibility vests.
After fining Thom Homeserve Ltd., magistrates ordered the company to pay £6,250 cost. Mr. Minshull was ordered to pay £150 cost
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