Homeless man, 48, crushed to death by large metal-clawed crane at recycling plant after he fell asleep in a wheelie bin
- - Ranjit Singh found among rubbish when it was lifted onto a conveyor belt
- - Night supervisor Mark Bradshaw heard a 'thud' before discovering the body
- - Mr Singh was known in the community to often sleep in bins behind shops
By TARA BRADY
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A homeless man was crushed to death by a large metal-clawed crane at a recycling plant after he fell asleep in a wheelie bin, an inquest has heard.
Mark Bradshaw, who was a night supervisor at Biffa Recycling plant in Tipton, West Midlands, knew something was wrong when he heard a sickening ‘thud’.
He then discovered the body of Ranjit Singh, 48, among a pile of rubbish when it was lifted onto a conveyor belt.
Tragic: The Biffa recycling plant in Tipon where the body of a man was found after he was crushed to death
Mr Bradshaw closed the line down and immediately called emergency services when he found the mangled body of Mr Singh on September 8 last year.
Smethwick Coroner's Court heard Mr Singh died of catastrophic injuries including a broken spine and shattered pelvis.
Ranjit Singh was crushed to death by a large metal-clawed crane at the recycling plant after he fell asleep in the wheelie bin
The homeless man was last seen the night before he died on September 7 outside a bookmakers in Smethwick, West Midlands.
Speaking at the inquest, Detective Constable Aki Heer from West Midlands Police, said: 'A post-mortem found he had sustained catastrophic crushing injuries including a broken spine and shattered pelvis and that the injuries were consistent with the large claw machinery found at recycling sites.'
Mr Singh was well known among the homeless community and the inquest heard he often slept in bins behind shops.
He also had twice the legal drink drive limit of alcohol in his blood when he died and had a history of alcohol abuse.
Health and Safety inspector Judith Lloyd said the Biffa Recycling site processed around 700 tons of rubbish a day and at the time of Mr Singh’s death the bay had been dealing with around 200 tons of recyclables.
She said: 'Biffa have a number of systems in place to help drivers deal with people in and around bins.'
A jury concluded Mr Singh’s death was an accident and he had received multiple injuries after being crushed by machinery.
Verdict - Accidental death.
Health and Safety inspector Judith Lloyd said the Biffa Recycling site processed around 700 tons of rubbish a day
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