Two construction firms have been fined more than £1.1 million following the death of Gheorghita Arsene, a 33-year-old Romanian labourer who was buried alive when a 10ft trench he was digging by hand collapsed on top of him at a care home construction site in Banstead, Surrey. A court heard the death, which occurred on 24 June 2020, was "entirely avoidable" and resulted from a failure to properly secure the trench walls, driven by a desire to complete the work quickly and cheaply.

Mr Arsene was excavating the pit with a pick and shovel when the unsupported sides caved in, and colleagues tried desperately to free him by hand before emergency services arrived; he was pronounced dead at the scene an hour later, and the site remained too unsafe to recover his body until the next day. Site manager Peter Wraith and his assistant Gregory Peake were cleared of criminal charges, while subcontractor Anthony O'Connor received a 10-month suspended sentence after admitting a health and safety breach. Builder Appledorn was fined £500,000 and subcontractor T Vaughan Limited was fined £650,000 plus £40,000 in costs, both found guilty of failing to ensure Mr Arsene's safety, with the judge citing "serious and systemic failure" and "deliberate concealment".