Latest News

July 2008 - Fine for Legionnaires' cider firm

Cider maker HP Bulmer and its water treatment contractor Nalco have each been fined £300,000 over a fatal outbreak of Legionnaires' disease

Two people died and more than 20 others fell ill in Hereford in 2003, the city's crown court heard.

Judge Alistair McCreath said a failure to clean two cooling towers adequately at Bulmer's mill in Plough Lane in 2003 was "almost beyond belief".

The two firms had admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. They were also ordered to pay more than £50,000 each in prosecution costs. Nalco, based in Northwich, Cheshire, and the cider firm pleaded guilty last year to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of persons not in their employment.

Of the 28 cases, the age range of the victims was between 36 and 91 and 21 of the victims were men

October 2007 - Rise on Legionnaire's cases

Legionnaires's disease is on the increase in the UK, with 163 cases reported between January and June 2007.

That represents a jump of 26% over the first half of last year and further cases have continued to be reported from various parts of the country since then.

A school and a prison in Kent were evacuated after the legionella bacteria was found in their water supplies, a 78 year old man was taken seriously ill in Reading and a man died after contracting the disease in the Barnet area. Other clusters of infection have been found in the West Midlands and South West.

Dr Carol Joseph of the Health Protection Agency said there was no evidence that this summer's floods contributed directly to the spread of the waterborne bacteria.

However, he added that there were concerns that cooling towers switched off during the heavy rains in June and July could be a breeding ground for the bacteria if they were not properly sterilised before being switched back on.

Meanwhile the cider maker HP Bulmer faces an unlimited fine after admitting responsibility at Worcester Crown Court in September for the outbreak of Legionnaire's disease which swept across Hereford in 2003. Two people died and 20 others contracted the disease.

March 2007 - Patient who overcame leukaemia killed by a dirty hospital shower

A father of three died after he contracted an infection from a hospital shower on the day that he was due to be discharged after successful treatment for leukaemia.

The hospital had failed for many years to act on guidance about the safety of its ageing hot water system, a court was told. The failure led to Daryl Eyles, 37, contracting legionnaires’ disease from a dirty shower head. He had just been told that he was in complete remission after enduring months of chemotherapy.

September 2006 - Architect found "Not Guilty"

Architect for Barrow Borough Council, Gillian Beckingham has been found not guilty of manslaughter following the death of seven people after an outbreak of Legionnaire's Disease in Barrow in Furness in 2002. Both Beckingham and her employer were found guilty under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, however

The Council was fined £ 125,000 and ordered to pay costs of £ 90,000 whilst Beckingham was fined £ 15,000 personally. The verdicts come after the first manslaughter trial collapsed when the jury failed to reach a verdict. The judge was critical of the council and described its failings as "grave in the extreme" He said that had it been a commercial organisation, the fine would have been at least £ 1m, but accepted the fine will have to be paid from public finances.

The case originated following a change in maintenance contractors at a council run facility called Forum 28. This left the buildings cooling tower without regular water testing for the presence of legionella. Seven people with an additional 172 confirmed cases of Legionnaire' Disease following the outbreak.

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