Total UK fined £1.4m for Lindsey Oil Refinery death

An oil giant has been fined £1.4m after a worker died in a major fire at its plant in North East Lincolnshire.

Grimsby man Robert Greenacre died when a blaze broke out at the Lindsey Oil Refinery in Immingham on 29 June 2010.

At Hull Crown Court, Total UK was also ordered to pay £35,000 costs after admitting health and safety breaches.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the fire was caused by an uncontrolled release of crude oil.

Sentencing the firm, High Court Judge Mrs Justice McGowan said the failings were "substantial, obvious and avoidable".

She said: "Nothing this court can say or do will in any measure repair the damage to his family, or console them."

The 24-year-old contracted fitter was working with a colleague beneath a distillation column containing hot crude oil when the fire broke out.

Mr Greenacre's colleague managed to escape the scene and suffered minor burns.

A victim impact statement by Mr Greenacre's mum, Louise, was read out in court, in which she described the family's ongoing devastation over the incident.

The family struggled to celebrate happy events such as Christmas and they felt they had been given a life sentence, she said.

Total UK said it "wishes to repeat its profound sorrow and regret to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Robert Greenacre".

"Following findings from the investigation, immediate improvements were made including a redesign of piping, the implementation of revised systems and procedures and the provision of additional training to prevent such an accident occurring in the future."

The HSE said the accident "could have been easily prevented".