WALES

RIP
Worker who died at recycling plant named locally

By Oliver Slow, BBC News

A contractor died at Atlantic Recycling, Cardiff, following an incident on Monday afternoon

A worker who died at a south Wales recycling site has been named locally as Kyle Colcomb.

Mr Colcomb was described by colleagues as “an absolute gentleman” and “totally irreplaceable”.

Emergency crews were called to the Atlantic Recycling plant in Rumney, Cardiff, on Monday at 12:45 BST, South Wales Police said, with a man dying of his injuries.

The firm’s parent company, Dauson Environmental Group, said the incident involved a “contractor carrying out maintenance” at the site.

Worker dies at plant owned by Gething donor firm

M & B Hydraulics said it was “absolutely devastated” at Mr Colcomb's death, saying he was an “absolute pleasure to have worked with”.

UKFF Solutions described Mr Colcomb on Instagram as “a fantastic man who had an amazing work ethic, and proved time and time again how much of a hard-working man he was”.

Dauson said in a statement on Monday that it was “continuing to support the emergency services and regulators with their ongoing investigations at this time”.

In recent months the firm has been in the media spotlight over a £200,000 donation it made to Welsh Labour leadership candidate Vaughan Gething, which became controversial when it was revealed the company’s director, David John Neal, was prosecuted for environmental offences in 2013 and 2017.

The first minister said he broke no rules, but last month he lost a vote of no confidence in the Senedd over the issue.

Earlier this year, Atlantic Recycling admitted a health and safety breach in the death of a worker and was fined £300,000.

Anthony Bilton, 59, was run over by a shovel loader at the firm's site in Rumney in September 2019.

An HSE investigation into that incident found an improper risk assessment had been carried out.

Atlantic Recycling released a statement saying it "apologises unreservedly to the family and friends of Mr Bilton".