Boss in manslaughter trial allegedly said he didn't know what happened to missing labourer

Labourer David Willis, 29, was reported missing by his family after failing to return to his Tipton home after working at Timmins Waste Services in Wolverhampton on September 15, 2018.

The company and yard manager Brian Timmins, of Fair Lawn, Albrighton, are son trial accused of his manslaughter under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Giving evidence for the prosecution under oath machine operator Daniel Roberts said he was not at work at the time of the alleged incident and when he returned two days later, he found the victim's coat in the yard.

Mr Roberts said: "I got a phone call from someone, maybe his mom, saying he hadn't come home. I then phoned Brian to ask him if he knew where Dave was. He replied with words like, 'God knows, I don't know'.

"When I went to work on the Monday I found Dave's coat. I was behind the shredder on a crate which had some diesel drums inside. There was a charger and two £20 notes in his coat pocket.

"I took it straight to the office. I think the police were there at the time. That was about 9am. I had been in the cab working for about 10 minutes. I was looking around the yard if I could see him. I was wondering if he had come to the premises drunk and had fallen asleep in the yard."

Mr Roberts told the jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court that he had worked for the business based in Mander Street, Merridale, for about 10 years at the time.

He said he did not like reading the training materials, but had been given an induction and training by the bosses over the years and by the company that supplied the shredding machine in 2017.

He told the jury that both he and Mr Willis, of St Marks Road, Tipton, had previously had cocaine habits and he described him as sometimes being "moody".

Mr Roberts said he had never seen his colleague operating any of the machinery and that his understanding was that Mr Willis was not trained to operate the shredder, and did not have a licence for the excavator of the grabbing machine.

The jury was previously told that Mr Willis climbed atop the shredder after a blockage while his boss tried to fix the problem without consulting engineers and that Mr Timmins lifted him into position on a forklift truck.

Timmins Waste denies corporate manslaughter. Company manager Brian Timmins, of Fair Lawn, Albrighton, denies manslaughter, gross negligence and perverting the course of justice.

Police subsequently carried out a search at the Poplars landfill site in Cannock. No body was ever found.

The trial continues.