Boss jailed over apprentice death

Ben Pinkham died six days after suffering 90% burns

A managing director has been jailed for 12 months after a young apprentice was killed in a boatyard explosion.

Alan Mark, 45, managing director of Plymouth-based Nationwide Heating Systems Ltd, was convicted of Ben Pinkham's manslaughter on Monday.

The 21-year-old was working at a boat manufacturer's in Plymouth when the blast occurred in February 2003.

He died in hospital six days after suffering 90% burns in the explosion.

This case must be viewed as a warning to all employers Mr Justice Steel

Mr Pinkham, of Saltash, Cornwall, was using a highly flammable solvent to clean a resin storage tank at the Princess Yachts International yard when the explosion occurred on 3 February 2003.

Exeter Crown Court heard Mr Pinkham had not been warned about the dangers of using the chemical in a confined space.

Mark, 45, of Burleigh Manor in Plymouth, had denied the charge of manslaughter.

Nationwide Heating Systems Ltd was also found guilty of manslaughter.

Both Mark and his company had pleaded guilty to three Health and Safety offences.

The firm and the managing director also admitted failing to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to the health and safety of employees.

Princess Yachts pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two health and safety offences.

'Needlessly lost'

Mr Pinkham's father, Brian, said after the conviction that the family was serving a "life sentence".

He said: "He will never come back to us. We know that, and we have to accept it, but for us it's the hardest thing in life."

Mr Justice Steel said: "The life of a young man has been needlessly lost in a terrible way."

He said the "shadow of anguish and despair" would be over Mr Pinkham's family forever.

The judge added: "This case must be viewed as a warning to all employers to pay rigorous and robust attention to matters of safety."