An HSE inspector prosecuting a theme-park company over the death of a worker ended up in the dock herself owing to her behaviour in court.
Details have only just emerged of the case of inspector Helen Diamond, who was fined £2000 at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on 10 November, after being found in contempt of court by Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane. The charge related to her behaviour in court and towards a defence witness on 8 October during the trial of Parkware Ltd, owner of the Loudoun Castle theme park in Galston, Ayrshire.
In addition to her sentence, the HSE has taken further action against Diamond but has not dismissed her. A spokesperson stated “This is a matter of great regret to both the inspector and the HSE. We accept and understand the decision of the court and HSE has taken its own disciplinary action against the individual, in addition to the sentence imposed by the court. We expect the highest standards of conduct from all our employees and regret what happened in this case.”
The HSE also intends to write to its field staff to “remind them about court etiquette”.
The trial at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court ended on 10 October with Parkware found not guilty of a contravention of section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.
The prosecution followed the death in July 2007 of an employee of the company, who had tried to activate a stalled rollercoaster car at the start of the ride. When the ride commenced, he failed to let go of the back of the car and was thrown off, sustaining fatal injuries.
