A widow has told how her husband's diving death has left her with one regret - that she wasn't with him when he died. Angela Clarke says the loss of her huband, Roger, has left her so scared of water she can't bath or even put her face under the shower.
And she says the death meant she "lost my world" and reason to live. Mrs Clarke was speaking after a Health and Safety Executive investigation into the death of the 55-year-old, from Stafford, who drowned during an open water training dive in June 2018.
The investigation found that his trainer, Lance Palmer, was responsible for multiple failings that contributed to the tragedy, Stoke on Trent Live reports. Palmer has been ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £3,085 after he admitted health and safety breaches.
Leicester Magistrates’ Court was told how Roger was a recreational diver on an entry level Technical Diving International (TDI) Closed Circuit Rebreather Course when he died. The dive at Stoney Cove, Leicester was planned, managed, and supervised by Palmer, who trades as LP Diving and Marine Services.
An HSE investigation found Palmer's failings included:
- not adequately maintaining and checking his students breathing apparatus;
- failing to remain in close enough proximity to monitor his student which meant he did not notice the audible and visual alarms sounding on breathing apparatus;
- contravening TDI rules for exceeding maximum diving depths on repeat dives;
- and failing to have an adequately qualified rescue diver in the water with him and the student.
Palmer, of Pillaton Hall Farm, Penkridge, Stafford, admitted breaching Section 3 (2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
Opening up on the impact of the dad-of-two's death his widow told of the devastating impact the tragedy has had on her life. In a family impact statement, Angela said: “From the day I lost Roger to this day I cannot get into water, not even a bath and I can’t put my face into a shower.
“He was my world. We had a good lifestyle. We had everything. I lost my world and reason to live and all I wanted to do was curl up and die and to be with my husband. I have only one regret in my life – not being with my husband when he died.”
Speaking after the case HSE Inspector Richard Martins said “Technical diving is a high-risk activity where student divers are totally reliant on their instructors. This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of Lance Palmer to plan, manage and conduct his diving training in accordance with the law and his training agency’s rules.”
