£1.15m in company fines after fatal unsupported-trench collapse

The prosecution

HSE reported on 9 September 2026 that Gheorghita Arsene, 33, died after an unsupported trench collapsed at a site in Banstead, Surrey, burying him beneath around two tonnes of soil.

A joint Surrey Police and HSE investigation found there were no supports in the trench and excavated soil had been deposited immediately beside it. Principal contractor Appledorn Developments Limited was fined £500,000 and subcontractor T Vaughan Limited £650,000. A self-employed contracts manager received a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months after admitting a personal health and safety offence.

Why it matters to site and lifting management

Although this was an excavation case rather than a lifting prosecution, it provides a significant reminder that companies and individuals can face enforcement when known unsafe conditions are allowed to continue. That principle is directly relevant to Project Managers, Construction Managers, Temporary Works Coordinators, Appointed Persons and Lift Supervisors.

Planning documentation is only effective when site conditions are checked and unsafe work is stopped. Where excavation support, ground conditions, plant position or temporary works differ from the planned arrangement, the work should be reassessed before continuing.

• Do not permit entry into unsupported excavations where collapse protection is required.
• Keep spoil and surcharge loads appropriately controlled at excavation edges.
• Escalate changes in ground or temporary-works conditions.
• Use POWRA and permit controls to confirm conditions before work starts.
• Record interventions and stop-work decisions as part of the project audit trail.