cqms-header-logocqms-header-logocqms-header-logocqms-header-logo
  • Welcome
  • Consultancy Services
    • Competent Person Service
    • Health and Safety Documentation
    • Audits & Inspections
    • CDM Consultancy
  • Safety Scheme Services
    • Safety Scheme Assessment & Certification
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Safety Scheme Portal
    • Safety Scheme Fees
    • Apply Now
  • Training
    • Health and Safety Training Courses
    • Online training courses
    • IOSH Managing Safely
  • Resources
    • Insights
      • Corporate Manslaughter cases
      • Recent Prosecutions
      • HSE Alerts
      • News Articles
      • Guidance
    • FAQs
    • Shop
  • About us
    • Who is CQMS
    • Accreditation, Certification & Memberships
    • Testimonials
    • Privacy Notice
  • Get in Touch
0

£0.00

✕

Remembering the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster – 20 Years On

6th February 2024

HSE inspector Peter Lennon, a member of the investigation team that investigated the incident, has reflected on the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster in a blog

On the evening of 5 February 2004 over 30 young men and women were trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay as they harvested cockles – 23 tragically lost their lives. Most of those who were at work were Chinese nationals. Many of them had little experience or knowledge of the sea.

Cockling on Morecambe Bay was a long-established industry undertaken by the local fishing community, who understood the dangers of the tides in the bay and had been taking precautions over time.

Up until then, more people had become involved in what had quickly developed as a lucrative business: not all understood the hazards or the precautions needed to work safely.

HSE immediately established a team from the then Field Operations Division (FOD) North West Agriculture Group to assist in the complex investigation, right from the beginning. The team worked together with Lancashire Constabulary, the local fishing community, the local authorities and the Gangmaster Licensing Authority to understand what had happened and what could be done to prevent anything like this happening again.

What happened next?

Working with others, including HSE’s Agriculture Sector, we produced guidance on how to work safely in the bay – and in similar estuaries and tidal areas – when harvesting produce such as cockles. We supported local authorities as they  developed a regime for permits to regulate the activity, making sure everyone works as safely as possible.

The investigation also revealed how the workers had been exploited by gangmasters and our Vulnerable Workers’ Team has continued to work with the now renamed Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and others to deal with concerns about those who are being exploited and whose health and safety is being compromised.

Reflections

On a personal note, after being involved in the investigation and following the case to its final conclusions in court, “Morecambe Bay” will always resonate as a preventable human tragedy in which young people lost their lives in a foreign country, far away from their loved ones.

There is a memorial to those who died, close to the RNLI station, in Morecambe. If you find yourself nearby, please take the time to visit it.

 

Source: HSE Website | 05.02.2024

Share

Related posts

15th March 2024

Letter to industry: Registration of the Building Control Profession – transitional arrangements


Read more
25th January 2024

Manufacturing company fined £15,000 for wood dust failures


Read more
27th April 2023

Extra checks on fairground rides over summer after run of incidents


Read more

Get in touch

CQMS Limited
The Clock, 12-13 Westgate, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6LT
Tel: 01476 566 665
Email: enquiries@cqms-ltd.com

Connect with us on social media

CQMS Safety-Scheme is a UKAS-accredited Type C Inspection Body under ISO 17020:2012 for the provision of health and safety assessment services’
CQMS Safety-Scheme - UKAS-accredited Type C Inspection Body under ISO 17020:2012

Search our site

✕

External Links

H&S Executive Website
Incident Contact Centre
The British Safety Council
RoSPA

© 2017 - 2025 CQMS Limited | Registered office address: Nationworld House, Noose Lane, Willenhall, England, WV13 3AP Company number: 02950076 | All rights reserved | Site built and hosted by GIGER MEDIA | Content managed by CQMS
    0

    £0.00

      ✕

      Login

      Lost your password?