A DPD courier reportedly working 14-hour shifts seven days a week in the lead up to the Black Friday sales was tragically discovered dead in his van.
Warren Norton, who was in his 40's, was found deceased at his steering wheel on November 23 on DPD premises in Dartford at around 7am.
Colleagues said the man had been working hours round the clock. They spotted him slumped at the steering wheel in his Citroën van, the Mirror reports.
They initially believed he was sleeping and tapped on the window to wake him but Warren did not respond.
The window was then smashed to gain access into the vehicle and the man was given CPR and a defibrillator as an ambulance attended the scene but he was sadly confirmed dead on the warehouse floor.
The hard working dad is believed to have been employed by DPD for around two years. Colleagues revealed that DPD urges couriers to to work longer hours in the run up to busy periods such as Black Friday and that Warren was working up to 14 hours consecutively for weeks as sales packages piled up.
DPD has denied these claims. 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."
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