A beloved great-grandmother tragically died after falling into a pub cellar while setting up for her daughter's surprise birthday party, a court was told.
Olwen Collier, who was well-known in the local community for running a popular cafe, mistakenly opened the wrong door in a poorly lit pub hallway and fell into the dark cellar, sustaining severe brain injuries. Despite being airlifted to hospital, Ms Collier's injuries were too severe and she sadly couldn't be saved.
The judge presiding over the case described the pub's arrangements as "a fatal accident waiting to happen" due to the landlords' health and safety negligence, stating they had failed to take even the most basic precautions for their customers' safety. Swansea Crown Court heard from prosecutor, Lee Reynolds, that Ms Collier visited the Stag and Pheasant in Carmel, near Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, on January 12 last year.
She was there to decorate a table for her daughter Allison Raymond's surprise 50th birthday bash. Landlord Philip Hawkins instructed them on their arrival to "go around the corner, bear right" towards the function room. Venturing down a "dimly lit" hallway, the group faced three doors - one leading to staff access behind the bar, another to the cellar, and the final door to the function room and toilets.
Amidst the confusion, first-time visitor Ms Collier mistook the cellar door for the function room entrance and tumbled into the darkness below. Despite her grandson, Emyr Raymond, desperately clinging onto her coat, his efforts were in vain and she was unable to prevent her fall, reports Wales Online.
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The court was told how Mr Raymond used his mobile phone as a torch while chasing after his grandmother, only to find her lifeless at the bottom of the stairs. The 69-year-old Ms Collier, a familiar figure in Gorseinon from running the beloved Bizzie Lizzies Cafe for over three decades, was flown to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Despite suffering a fractured skull and severe brain swelling, and the tireless work of medical staff, she tragically passed away.
The Stag and Pheasant in Llandeilo Road, Carmel (Media Wales)Allison Raymond, grieving after her mother's passing, said: "I can't comprehend what's happened. I can't accept the fact she is not going to come home. Mammy was such an outgoing person. She was still running her own business, she ran Bizzie Lizzies Cafe in Gorseinon for 35 years with Sam Booth. She was fit and healthy and she would do lots of charity work. I just can't get my head around it. It's horrendous. We're still in disbelief. I feel quite sick that she died in that way.
"We are a close knit family and it's now like a huge piece is missing. A massive piece of the jigsaw is missing. She will always be remembered for her smile and laughter. She was my everything. I have lost my mum and my best friend. She was just someone you could always go to if you wanted help or to know anything."
The prosecution, led by Mr Reynolds, argued that the unlocked cellar door was the primary health and safety failure. Other issues included poor hallway lighting, Mr Hawkins' failure to guide the group to the function room, and "ambiguous and inadequate" signage on doors. The sign for the function room door misleadingly indicated that the toilets were in that direction.
The court learned from an investigation into the fatality that Mr Hawkins had been working alone in the pub on the day of the incident as his wife Tracy was bedridden with gastroenteritis. Just minutes before the incident, Mr Hawkins had been in the cellar handling gas canisters.
The only switch for the cellar light was located behind the bar, not at the top of the stairs. The lock on the cellar door was faulty, preventing it from being unlocked from the inside. During a visit to the cellar with inspectors, Mr Hawkins had "gently" closed the door behind them so the lock did not engage and they could exit.
Philip Hawkins, 49, and Tracy Hawkins, 53, both of Llandeilo Road, Carmel, Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, had previously admitted to failing to discharge a health and safety duty when they appeared in court for sentencing. Their defence lawyer, Ian Ibrahim, described the incident as an "absolute tragedy" that left his clients as "broken people".
He revealed that the Hawkins, originally from the Bridgend area, had held various jobs and worked for different employers over the years - including Balfour Beatty in the case of Philip Hawkins and Sony in the case of Tracy Hawkins - and they had invested their £40,000 life savings into taking on the pub's lease just three or four months before the incident. He stated that references presented to the court portrayed the defendants as honest, trustworthy, and valuable members of the community.
Judge Paul Thomas KC stated that the term "tragedy" is often overused, but in this case, it was entirely appropriate. He described Ms Collier as a healthy and cherished woman whose death under "terrible, terrible" circumstances had left her family and friends "utterly bereft and inconsolable".
He highlighted the well-known dangers of cellars, especially for pub landlords, and pointed out that the combination of an unlocked cellar door, poor hallway lighting, and inadequate door signage created "a fatal accident waiting to happen". While acknowledging the defendants' lack of experience as pub tenants, he stressed that it should have been "wholly impossible" for a member of the public to access the cellar area.
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He told the pair that Ms Collier's death resulted from their failure to take "even the most basic care" for their customers' safety. The judge recognised the defendants' remorse but suggested it might be tinged with self-pity. Judge Thomas stated that he did not have the power to pass a sentence that would "remotely atone" for the family's loss, and if he were in the family's shoes, he is adamant he would want a judge to "throw away the key". However, he asserted that he had to prescribe a sentence in accordance with legislation, sentencing and imposition guidelines.
He identified the offence as clearly crossing the custody threshold but saw a realistic opportunity for rehabilitation and thus, the sentence could justifiably be suspended. Considering a one-third reduction for their guilty pleas, each of the defendants was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months. Philip Hawkins was additionally ordered to fulfil 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.
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