A courier who colleagues say had been working 14-hour shifts seven days a week in the lead up to Black Friday was found dead in his van.
Warren Norton, who was in his 40s and worked for parcel delivery firm DPD, was discovered at his steering wheel at DPD premises in Dartford around 7am yesterday (November 23).
Colleagues reportedly saw him slumped at the steering wheel in his Citroën van. Assuming he was sleeping, they tapped on the window to wake him up but he didn't respond.
One then smashed the window to get into the vehicle. He was given CPR and a defibrillator was used but he was pronounced dead on the warehouse floor, reports Kent Live.
An ambulance attended the scene.
The dad is thought to have worked for DPD for about two years, according to The Sun.
Colleagues told the newspaper DPD encourages couriers to work longer hours during busy times such as Black Friday, and that Warren was said to have worked up to 14 hours a day for weeks as Black Friday packages piled up.
However DPD has denied this.
A spokesman for the firm said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of Warren Norton.
"Mr Norton was a self-employed driver, working for a supplier to DPD and was well known and regarded at the depot. Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time.
"We absolutely deny any allegations of pressure to work long hours, and can confirm that, as a responsible carrier, we monitor every driver’s hours for legal and safety reasons.
"Mr Norton was working on average 5 days a week for DPD and the hours he worked were well within the legal limits."
