A DIRECTOR at garden landscaping supplies firm Deco-Pak today told a jury that the death of an employee at its premises was an awful tragedy that the management was regretful and remorseful about.

David Hall, son of the managing director Michael Hall, was giving evidence at Bradford Crown Court in the manslaughter trial following the fatal crushing of maintenance engineer Andrew Tibbott.

The jury has heard that Mr Tibbott, 48, was pinned by a robotic arm to a conveyor belt after he walked through a gap in the safety fencing on an RM packaging machine at the firm on Halifax Road, Hipperholme.

Deco-Pak denies the corporate manslaughter of Mr Tibbott who died on Good Friday, 2017.

Company directors, Rodney Slater, 62, of Wellbank View, Rochdale, and Michael Hall, 64, of Hullen Edge Lane, Elland, plead not guilty to Mr Tibbott’s manslaughter by gross negligence.

Deco-Pak and Michael Hall have admitted failing to ensure that employees were not exposed to risk. Slater denies that charge.

David Hall began his evidence by stating that Mr Tibbott’s death was “awful.”

“It’s a tragedy which we regret and are very remorseful for and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” he told the court.

He said on behalf of the company that Mr Tibbott was in no way responsible for what had happened to him.

Deco-Pak had pleaded guilty to breaching the Health & Safety Act at the first court hear-ing last year.

It accepted that it had failed to do what was reasonably practicable to protect workers on the packaging machines, including the RM machine which killed Mr Tibbott.

Mr Hall said the firm also accepted that the gap in the fencing round the machine and the lack of an interlock on the red gate was unacceptable.

He told the jury that Deco-Pak was started from scratch in 2004. It was set up as a fami-ly business after he had graduated with a marketing degree.

He said he had never heard his father being negative about health and safety or wit-nessed him block spending on anything that was needed.

After Mr Hall senior had an accident away from the factory and suffered serious injuries he could not get around the premises as easily. He started to take a back seat following an operation and was less hands-on by April, 2017.

David Hall said his father did not have a clear understanding of how each machine worked. He did not operate them, inspect them or train anyone to use them.

The trial continues.