Devon biogas firms fined after fatal electrocution despite repeated safety warnings

Two companies have been fined following the death of a worker and life-changing injuries to a colleague at a biogas site in Devon after safety warnings were ignored.
Carl Parsons, 34, was fatally electrocuted and Luke Madavan was seriously injured when a cherry picker struck an 11,000-volt overhead powerline at the Willand Biogas site in Cullompton on 1 June 2020.
Parsons, described by his family as a funny, loving and fantastic father, left behind a wife and three children.
Willand O&M Ltd and New Wave Marine Ltd were sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on 3 March 2026.
New Wave Marine had been contracted to lift the lid of a biodigester and clear a crust blockage inside the tank when the cherry picker it was operating made contact with the powerline, passing electrical current through the metal basket.
An HSE investigation found that Willand O&M had been advised by its principal contractor and Western Power Distribution to relocate the overhead powerline nine months before the incident — advice that, if followed, would have eliminated the risk of contact during both the build and future maintenance operations.
The company failed to act and put no adequate controls in place, such as height restrictors on cherry pickers or restricted work areas.
Supervision, monitoring and site induction were also found to be poor.
New Wave Marine's risk assessment was deemed neither suitable nor sufficient, and the company lacked formal training provision and adequate supervision for the work.
Willand O&M pleaded guilty to an offence under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and was fined £51,000 with £28,467 in prosecution costs. New Wave Marine pleaded guilty to offences under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005, receiving a £30,000 fine and £8,000 in costs.
HSE inspector Nicole Buchanan said the deaths and injuries were entirely avoidable, adding that the electricity network will assist companies in moving or burying lines underground to prevent such incidents.