Company and director fined following death during diving activity

Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), a Ballymoney based company, and its only director have both been sentenced at Antrim Crown Court after pleading guilty to health and safety offences.

The case arose out of the death of a 53-year-old during a commercial diving operation to recover golf balls from a lake at a County Antrim golf course on 26 October 2021.

GOLFBALLSNI Limited, which is no longer trading, was fined £100 for failing to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of the deceased. Mr Tom Best, the sole director of GOLFBALLSNI Limited, was also fined £10,000 for the same offence.

Speaking after the hearing, Kyle Carrick, a Principal Inspector with HSENI, said “This tragic drowning incident could easily have been avoided. Diving is a hazardous activity and there are specific requirements to control the risks associated with diving at work. These must be followed in order to avoid such tragedies.”

On the day of the incident, the deceased failed to resurface while searching for golf balls. He was using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, or SCUBA diving as it is more commonly known.

The investigation identified a number of shortcomings in the planning and management of the dive. These included not having a dive supervisor, risk assessments, dive plans and method statements, as well as equipment issues. The control measures used during the dive were inadequate.

Further guidance on the legal requirements relating to diving at work can be found at:

• Diving

Notes to editors: 

1. Breaches and fines for Tom Best are as follows:
   Article 5(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, contrary to Section 20(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954: fine £10,000.
2. Breaches and fines for GOLFBALLSNI Limited are as follows:
   Article 5(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978: fine £100.
3. For media enquiries please contact: HSENI Press Office on 028 9024 3249 or email media@hseni.gov.uk. For out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110.

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