Co-op fined £400,000 after a shopper died when he slipped on water which had leaked from a chiller
Retired railway clerk Stanley May, 74, hailed as a 'very special person'
THE CO-OP was today fined £400,000 over the death of a devoted customer who slipped on water from a leaking display that had been faulty for nearly TWO days.
Retired railway clerk Stanley May, 74, hit his head on the floor in the fall and died in hospital two days later.
A court heard that the water leaked from a faulty sandwich chiller but customers had not been prevented from entering the area at the branch in Truro, Cornwall.
Staff had mopped up the spill and engineers had been called the day before the accident, but the water continued to leak.
On the day of the accident in July 2015 the leaking chiller had not been reported as a maintenance issue and the only control method was a wet floor sign.
The supermarket giant admitted failing to protect customers under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was also ordered to pay £50,000 court costs.
Stanley, a grandfather and father-of-three, was a stalwart of his local community and a lifetime customer of the store opposite his home in India Queens, Cornwall.
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Speaking after the case outside Truro Crown Court, his daughter, Victoria Parsons, 49, said: "We're absolutely devastated with the loss of dad.
"He was a very special person - and my mum died a month after he did. She couldn't cope with the loss of her beloved husband.
She added: "We would like everyone to learn that this could have so easily been avoided - if they had kept an eye on that water my dad would still be alive today.
"If anything could come out of this, please just think of water on the floor. It sends me into panic attacks now seeing it."
Judge Simon Carr said: "What happened was easily avoidable.
"It was a problem that would've been identifiable by anybody present and working in the store.
"The company tried to address the problem but did so inadequately."
Defending the Co-operative Group Ltd, Keith Morton QC said the company pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
The Co-op said: "We deeply regret the death of Mr Stanley May. No words can help ease his family's loss. We have privately expressed our regret and apologised to them.
"The health and safety of our customers is always of paramount concern. We accept things went wrong and have acted on the lessons learnt from Mr May's tragic death."
The court also heard that the company made a significant donation to a local charity of the family's choice.
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