Pub Company Fined After Woman Dies From Fall

The owners of a pub near Market Harborough have been fined £240,000 following the death of a customer who fell through an unlocked cellar door.

Julie Hyatt, 57, from Countesthorpe, died in hospital after suffering serious injuries at The Langton Arms in Church Langton, on May 14th 2023.

She had been visiting the pub for lunch with her husband, Paul and friends.

Mrs Hyatt hadn’t been drinking and was following signs to the toilet, when she opened an unmarked and unlocked door, not knowing it was to the pub’s cellar, and fell down a steep flight of stairs.

Julie Hyatt

An extensive investigation by Harborough District Council concluded that the business had not assessed the risk to the health and safety of its employees or members of the public.

There was also no risk assessment in place to cover the access into the basement cellar.

The council prosecuted Redcat Retail Pubs Ltd for failing to comply with health and safety legislation and the company pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety At Work act at Leicester Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

At the hearing, held on the second anniversary of Mrs Hyatt’s funeral, a judge also ordered the business to pay over £43,600 in legal costs and a victim surcharge of £2,000.

Cat Hartley, Director of Communities and Wellbeing at Harborough District Council, said: “Firstly, we offer our sincere condolences to Mr Hyatt and all of Mrs Hyatt’s family and friends.

“This was a serious breach of health and safety, which regrettably resulted in Mrs Hyatt losing her life. We have worked tirelessly on this investigation to ensure justice for the family.

“All businesses have a legal duty to their customers to ensure the conditions in their premises meet rigorous safety standards. We hope this prosecution sends out a strong message that businesses which fall significantly short of this standard will be brought before the courts.

“Residents and visitors to Harborough district should expect to be safe when they are enjoying any of our licensed hospitality premises.”

The owners of the pub pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation

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.”