Pontins deny corporate manslaughter after roof collapse

The owner of Pontins holiday parks has pleaded not guilty to corporate manslaughter after an air conditioning duct collapsed onto guests.

Grandmother Wendy Jones, 68, died in August 2019 after spending six months in hospital following the incident at the Brean Sands resort in Somerset.

She was one of 18 people injured when a 40-metre (131-ft) section of structural ducting and ceiling fell inside The Fun Factory entertainment centre in February 2019.

Pontins’ parent company, Britannia Jinky Jersey, denied the charge during a hearing at Bristol Crown Court earlier.

It is alleged that, between 1 January 2015 and 5 August 2019, Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd “managed and organised its activities in such a way as to cause the death of Wendy Jones”.

The company is said to have “exposed Wendy Jones to the risk of death from the collapse of ventilation ducting, which was positioned at height in the Fun Factory at Pontins Brean Sands, in gross breach of its duty to take reasonable care for the safety of Wendy Jones”.

The second charge alleges that, between 1 January 2015 and 21 February 2019, it failed to ensure that members of the public were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

It names the risk posed as “the installation of soundproofing materials in the Fun Factory at Pontins Brean Sands”.

Judge Lambert said a trial, expected to last up to six weeks, would take place at Bristol Crown Court on 12 October next year.