Husband Hits Out At Fine After Pub Tragedy

The husband of a woman who died after falling through an unlocked and unmarked cellar door at a pub near Market Harborough has hit out at the level of fine handed to its owners.

Paul Hyatt’s wife Julie, who was 57 and from Countesthorpe, was following signs to the toilet at The Langton Arms in Church Langton, when she opened the door and fell down a steep flight of stairs, suffering a catastrophic brain injury.

The couple, who met in 1985 and married her two years later, were having lunch at the pub with friends when the tragedy happened in May 2023.

Redcat Retail Pubs Ltd were fined £240,000 at Leicester Magistrates’ Court yesterday, after admitting breaching health and safety legislations.

Paul told HFM he feels justice has not been done and he will never get over the loss of Julie:

The court heard that inadequate signage and failure to secure the cellar door had contributed to the tragedy, along with wider failings in risk assessments and training.

Paul is now calling for tougher legislation and more frequent inspections of pubs to prevent similar tragedies.

Julie’s sister, Annette Beaumont, has also expressed her disappointment at the fine handed out.

She told HFM she hopes what happened will serve as a warning to pubs about the importance of complying with health and safety rules:

The couple, who both supported Leicester City FC and loved golf and walking their dogs, had visited Barbados together 14 years in a row, and were looking forward to spending more time together after Paul had retired.

Christopher Kardahji, the specialist fatal injury lawyer at legal company Irwin Mitchell who represented Paul in the case, said: “Paul and the rest of Julie’s loved ones remain devastated by her tragic death and the circumstances surrounding it. What started off as a nice lunch with friends turned into tragedy, and Julie’s family have been left trying to pick up the pieces.

“While nothing will make up for their loss, we hope that this case reinforces how vital it is for establishments to follow basic health and safety requirements, including having clear signage in place and ensuring that areas that aren’t open to the public are properly secured.”

In addition to fine, the company was ordered to pay £43,633.06 in legal costs following an investigation by Harborough District Council and a victim surcharge of £2,000.

Richard Lewis, CEO of Redcat Retail Pubs Ltd, said: “We would like to again express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mrs Hyatt.

“While it may offer little comfort, this tragic incident is something which has affected all of us in our business, where we have always sought to have premises which are safe, healthy and welcoming for both our guests and our teams.

“However, we must learn from this, and we have taken, and will continue to take, further steps to improve our systems and procedures to protect against anything of this nature ever happening again.”