Five dads crushed to the death when an unsafe 45-tonne wall fell on them "had no chance of escape" a court heard as two directors of a recycling plant were jailed.
The workers died when a 3.6 metre high wall fell on them at the Nechells metal recycling site in Birmingham.
Wayne Hawkeswood, Graham Woodhouse and the firms they ran - Hawkeswood Metal Recycling and Ensco 10101, known as Shredmet - were convicted at trial after denying 12 offences under the Health and Safety At Work Act, all linked to the precarious state of the wall at the premises in Aston Church Road.
And the two men were sentenced to nine months in prison each for serious health and safety offences linked to the tragedy at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, reported BirminghamLive.
Judge Mr Justice Sweeting said he accepted both men were of good character and had been hugely impacted by the case but only a custodial sentence would be appropriate.
The company Hawkeswood Metal Recycling was fined £1 million, while Shredmet was fined £600,000.
An order for costs totalling £775,000 was also granted against Hawkeswood and the two companies, with Woodhouse deemed unable to contribute.
Mr Justice Sweeting told the court the wall's condition was so precarious because of the weight against it that a gust of wind could have triggered the collapse. "There was no chance of escape," he said.
He told the court: "Spending on health and safety (by the companies) was at a bare minimum, given the type of risks likely to be encountered" though he said he found no evidence of deliberate cost-cutting.
He highlighted the 'highly profitable' nature of the businesses at the time, with 'ultimate boss' Hawkeswood enjoying a lavish life with multiple properties, an Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Harley Davidson and millions in shares. Woodhouse was responsible for day to day operations.
The five victims lost their lives instantly in the collapse in July 2016, leaving widows fighting for justice.
The five who died were Ousmane Kaba Diaby, 39, Saibo Sumbundu Sillah, 42, Bangally Tunkara Dukuray, 55, Almamo Kinteh Jammeh, 45 and Mahamadou Jagana Jagana, 49.
All were agency workers of African heritage - four were Gambian and one from Senegal. All were living in Birmingham or nearby.
The bay wall that fell was constructed out of heavy blocks and put up without expert input or risk assessment. It was so weakened by having tonnes of scrap metal placed against it that 'a gust of wind' could have brought it down on the day of the accident, the court heard.
The men were working in an empty bay next to it. Bosses at the firms worked by 'best guess' over how much metal to load in each bay, and how high to load it.
They had a 'poor health and safety record' including a prior conviction linked to an incident in 2010, the court heard. A spot check in 2021 at two locations owned by the company, five years after the deaths, found bays loaded above a red warning level, triggering a warning notice.
During the hearing it was claimed the companies regularly employed 'vulnerable' agency workers on low rates of pay but the judge ruled there was no evidence of 'exploitative practices' or discrimination.
Legal representatives for the companies and directors had claimed it was an accident that could not have been foreseen.
However, the Health and Safety Executive said it was entirely avoidable. The directors and their companies were convicted under regulations that outlined their failure to adequately assess risk and carry out their duties as employers to keep workers and others safe.
Describing it as one of the HSE's most difficult and complex investigations, lead inspector Amy Kalay said after the case: "Had the companies and directors taken responsibility for managing health and safety at this site these men would still be here today."
The five men had been tasked with clearing a bay of swarf material with shovels and forks alongside a supervisor in a Bobcat vehicle on the morning of the incident. They were just a few minutes away from completing the task when the wall collapsed, with no warning.
A video taken from an on site camera captured the moment the wall collapsed. The grainy footage, above, shows figures moving in and around the bay when suddenly the wall towering over them buckles and falls on top of them. Some of the metal ingots being stored against it spill on top.
They did not have 'any real chance of survival', said prosecutor Pascal Bates, for the HSE. A sixth man, Tombong Camarah Conteh, suffered a broken leg in the tragedy and has been left disabled as a result. Three others were luckily uninjured.
Emergency services staff who raced to the scene told of the trauma they were still experiencing as a result of what they saw, while the distraught families say they will never recover from the desperate loss. The widows also endured a five year battle for compensation.
Two companies were named in the charges because in May, shortly before the incident, Hawkeswood Metal Recycling had changed its name to Shredmet Ltd, now known as Ensco 10101, though directors Hawkeswood and Woodhouse were the same.
Each company was convicted of two health and safety offences while Hawkeswood, 53, and Woodhouse, 55, faced two further charges in respect of each company alleging they had been 'consenting, conniving or negligent' in respect of the health and safety failings. All defendants gave their address as Riverside Works, Trevor Street, Nechells.
