A DECISION not to bring criminal charges in connection with the death of a young labourer who was trapped in a dangerous factory machine is be reviewed.

The move follows the verdict by an inquest jury that he was unlawfully killed.

Coroner Michael Singleton said that Steven Donald, 17, had forfeited his life because adequate safety had not been provided.

Mr Donald, of York Close, Clayton-le-Moors, died after he was trapped in the conveyor belt of a paper baling machine at EW Cartons Ltd, York Street, Rishton, in August 1998. The inquest heard the only explanation for how Mr Donald became trapped was that he had fallen through a hole in the rubber belt. It was not known whether he fell onto the machine or stood on it. Mr Donald died on August 21 in Blackburn Infirmary from multiple organ failure and crush injuries to his chest, abdomen and legs.

Engineering experts told the Blackburn inquest that the baling machine was in a dangerous condition and some safety features had been bypassed or removed.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided in May not to bring criminal charges following an investigation by Lancashire Police, environmental health officers and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

But after the inquest, a spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said a meeting was being arranged for tomorrow at which it was hoped the police, Hyndburn Council, the Health and Safety Executive and the CPS would be represented.

"Everything has been arranged for Friday so that we can review the situation in the light of today's verdict," the spokesman said.

The factory where Mr Donald received his fatal injuries is owned by EW Cartons Ltd, whose managing director is Accrington Stanley FC chairman and owner Eric Whalley. Machine operator Ian Perkins, who said only he and Mr Donald knew how to work the machine, said the rubber belt had been patched up more than 15 times. The inquest heard that the company directors, all members of the Whalley family, had not carried out safety checks or provided training themselves. They had instead relied on the company which installed the secondhand machine, Waste Equipment Ltd, of Bamber Bridge.

Acting coroner Michael Singleton told the jurors that, to reach a verdict of unlawfully killing, they would need to be satisfied "beyond reasonable doubt" that either involuntary manslaughter or gross negligence had taken place. He said that if the jury found negligence had occurred, it could have been on the part of EW Cartons Ltd or Brian Foster from Waste Equipment Ltd.

The jury took less than half an hour to return a unanimous verdict of unlawful killing. Mr Singleton said that EW Cartons Ltd had "a duty of care" to ensure Mr Donald had a safe system of work. After the verdict he added: " It is quite clear that the verdict of the jury is that adequate safety was not provided and, as a consequence, Mr Donald forfeited his life.

"Steven Donald was doing honest work for honest pay. He was entitled to have his safety considered as paramount."

After the hearing the dead man's father, Greg Donald, of Fife, Scotland, said: "Justice has been done. It wasn't my son's fault. If the safety aspects of the machine were faulty, the company shouldn't have run the machine."

He added that he would take legal advice and intended to press for a prosecution.

Mr Donald's mother Janette Robertson, formerly of Clayton-le-Moors, was too upset to comment after the verdict. Since her son's death, she has returned to live in Glasgow where her son was born.

John Batty, representing Hyndburn Council, said after the inquest: "In the light of the jury's verdict, the matter will be reviewed and then referred to the CPS. But it would be wrong to speculate on what proceedings may follow."

Mr Batty said that although the jury had decided either that involuntary manslaughter or gross negligence had taken place, the authorities could not know who the jury had considered responsible when reaching its conclusions.

In a police interview read to the inquest, Mr Whalley said Mr Donald had been warned not to stand on the belt. He claimed the accident would not have happened if he had not stood on the machine.

After the verdict Mr Whalley declined to comment.

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