Apple farm boss Andrew Stocker guilty for two manslaughters
19 June 2015
From the section England
Andrew Stocker had denied the manslaughter of Ashley Clarke and Scott Cain at Blackmoor Estate
A fruit farm manager has been found guilty of the manslaughter of two workers who died while retrieving prize apples from a container.
Scott Cain and Ashley Clarke died last year after entering the storage tank where there was little oxygen.
They were trying to retrieve apples for an agricultural competition.
Andrew Stocker, who was manager of the fruit farm at Tory peer Lord Selborne’s Hampshire estate, was convicted of two counts of manslaughter.
The two men got in through a small hatch in the roof and used a practice nicknamed “scuba diving” at the farm, where workers would hold their breath while entering the storage container.
The practice was reportedly “encouraged” by Stocker.
He had denied manslaughter, but admitted exposing the men to a risk of death.
The manager was on holiday in the Maldives at the time of the men’s deaths, but had left instructions before he left.
Scott Cain, 23, and Ashley Clarke, 24, were both assistants at the farm and were found lying on crates of apples
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