Neve Gordon-Farleigh
BBC
Wed, April 8, 2026
Two companies have been fined after two men died while carrying out pest control work at a chicken factory.
Neil Moon, 49, and Jonathan Collins, 34, had entered an area full of concentrated nitrogen pumped from a chiller system at Banham Poultry in Attleborough, Norfolk on 3 October 2018.
At Norwich Crown Court on Thursday, Air Products PLC - which had designed the system - was fined £2,475,000 after previously pleading guilty to breaching health and safety rules.
Banham Poultry was fined £900 but the judge said this would have been substantially more had the company not entered liquidation.
Norfolk Police said the factory had introduced a system in May 2017 to pump waste nitrogen gas away from the site and into the atmosphere.
Following concerns the gas was collecting near the site, temporary modifications were made on three occasions during a 13-month period.
On the day the men arrived, temporary ducting had slipped down the factory's roof and released concentrated nitrogen into a confined passageway.
The court heard how the gas was supposed to be controlled safely but risks were not properly considered, with no checks or monitoring.
In a joint tribute following a three-day sentencing, the families of the men said their loss had left a "permanent void" in their lives.
They said: "We must say honestly that we do not feel justice has been served. For us, true justice would be Jonathan and Neil still being alive.
"If anything positive can come from this tragedy, we ask one thing. If you are responsible for staff or contractors, take that responsibility seriously.
"You have a duty of care. No family should ever have to endure what we have faced, and what we continue to face."
Wed, April 8, 2026
Two companies have been fined after two men died while carrying out pest control work at a chicken factory.
Neil Moon, 49, and Jonathan Collins, 34, had entered an area full of concentrated nitrogen pumped from a chiller system at Banham Poultry in Attleborough, Norfolk on 3 October 2018.
At Norwich Crown Court on Thursday, Air Products PLC - which had designed the system - was fined £2,475,000 after previously pleading guilty to breaching health and safety rules.
Banham Poultry was fined £900 but the judge said this would have been substantially more had the company not entered liquidation.
Norfolk Police said the factory had introduced a system in May 2017 to pump waste nitrogen gas away from the site and into the atmosphere.
Following concerns the gas was collecting near the site, temporary modifications were made on three occasions during a 13-month period.
On the day the men arrived, temporary ducting had slipped down the factory's roof and released concentrated nitrogen into a confined passageway.
The court heard how the gas was supposed to be controlled safely but risks were not properly considered, with no checks or monitoring.
In a joint tribute following a three-day sentencing, the families of the men said their loss had left a "permanent void" in their lives.
They said: "We must say honestly that we do not feel justice has been served. For us, true justice would be Jonathan and Neil still being alive.
"If anything positive can come from this tragedy, we ask one thing. If you are responsible for staff or contractors, take that responsibility seriously.
"You have a duty of care. No family should ever have to endure what we have faced, and what we continue to face."
Banham Poultry entered liquidation in October 2018 [BBC]
Previously pleading guilty to one count of failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety Act, Air Products plc was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £83,359.
Det Supt Stuart Chapman said the failures were "inexcusable and completely avoidable".
He said: "Jonathan and Neil went to work that day and should have returned home. They have every right to expect that these companies would meet the standards required to keep them and others safe.
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