Lancs farm fined £320,000 after death of 'much loved' family man
Date of alert:
Wednesday, 7 February 2024
Crime Ref:
Force:
Lancashire Constabulary
A Lancashire company involved in fruit and vegetable production has been fined £320,000 after a man 'who always put family first' was killed on-site.
Francis Schlachter, known as Frank, suffered severe head injuries when he fell from a skip at a farm operated by M.A.Forshaw Ltd on 3 January 2020.
The 64-year-old was described as ‘a rock’ by his wife of 35 years Linda, who said how much he would be missed by his friends and family.
Frank had been working at the site off Marsh Moss Lane, tipping food waste into a skip from a container attached to a forklift truck (FLT).
The container could not be securely attached to the FLT, which was known to detach from the vehicle during the procedure.
As Frank attempted to manually assist in the operation, he was standing on top of the skip when the container slipped from the FLT causing him to fall to the ground, resulting in fatal head injuries.
