A former construction firm director has been jailed for nearly nine years after a labourer died when a trench he was working in collapsed during a home extension project in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Dale Baker, 30, suffocated in December 2020 when the trench caved in, followed by the collapse of a conservatory's foundations, in an incident that highlighted serious safety failings on the site. Peter Clifford, 63, of Hintonwood East Anglia, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and health and safety offences, with his company also admitting related charges.

Investigators found that Clifford had dug the trench deeper than advised without proper supporting measures such as shuttering, and had excavated dangerously close to the conservatory without shoring up its foundations, while the trench was also left unfenced. Clifford was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court to eight years and 10 months in prison and banned from acting as a company director for 10 years; police noted he had also fled before failing to appear at court. Officials from Suffolk Police and the Health and Safety Executive said the case underscored the need for proper planning and precautions when working around excavations to prevent avoidable deaths.