Bakery delivery driver dies in gate accident
Ronald Hayward, 42, from Merthyr Tydfil, became trapped by the gates at the firm’s Agincourt Street site at about 5am on Wednesday October 26. It is thought that he had tried to open the gates to reverse his lorry into the wholesaler’s delivery yard when he became trapped underneath them.
Gwent Police said it was leading an investigation into the accident working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Newport City Council’s Health and Safety Department.
Heavy gates
According to a police statement: “A delivery was in the process of being made to a premises on Agincourt Street. During the course of the delivery, which involved the movement of heavy gates, an incident occurred then resulted in the death of a male at the location.”
The driver’s family is being supported by specially trained officers, said the police.
Four fire-engines and ambulances joined police at the scene of the accident. Paramedics pronounced Hayward dead at the scene.
A HSE spokeswoman said: “HSE is aware of the incident and is making initial enquiries.”
A spokesperson for AF Blakemore told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “We are currently assisting the authorities with their investigation of an incident that occurred at our Newport depot this morning [Wednesday October 26]. We would, however, like to take this opportunity to offer our condolences to the family of the individual concerned.”
A spokesman for Garth Bakery declined to comment on the accident until the police investigation was completed.
Paul Cockeram, ward councillor for the Shaftesbury area of Newport, told The South Wales Argus: “My heart goes out to the family and everyone concerned. It’s a shock and it must be a shock for the school opposite. There certainly needs to be a health and safety investigation into it.”
The Abercynon-based Garth Bakery is a privately-owned firm formed in October 1983.
Craft bakery
The bakery has 16 sales routes operating from the bakery with a workforce of 84 and an annual turnover of £5M. “We still class ourselves as a craft bakery, although we do have some automatic machines for the large volume of products we supply,” according to its website.
AF Blakemore & Son describes itself as “one of the largest and most forward thinking family-owned businesses in the UK.”
Established in 1917, the firm employs more than 7,900 people with a turnover of more than £1.1bn.
“Food and drink has always been the lifeblood of AF Blakemore and our business now entails retail, wholesale, distribution and shopfitting operations amongst our seven divisions,” according to a statement on the firm’s website.
In March this year the firm announced the acquisition and merger with fellow SPAR wholesale, distribution and retail company Capper & Co. The acquisition extended its geographical spread from Kent through to the Midlands, Wales, East Anglia and as far north as Gateshead, said the firm.
