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The Health and Safety Executive has informed the utilities firm of its plan to prosecute

Wessex Water is set to face criminal charges nearly six years after a tragedy that killed four workers at its Avonmouth treatment site near Bristol.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to prosecute the water company over the deaths of Luke Wheaton, 16, Ray White, 57, Brian Vickery, 63, and Mike James, 64, who died in December 2020.

The four workers, one of whom was an apprentice, were carrying out welding on the roof of an anaerobic digester silo and a spark ignited the gas inside.

Avon & Somerset police initially led a criminal investigation into the blast, but it was dropped in July 2024 because they said at the time the evidence they had gathered did “not reach the extremely high threshold to prosecute” anyone at Wessex Water, or the company itself, for corporate manslaughter.

The HSE took over the investigation and has now confirmed it will be bringing charges against Wessex Water in relation to the explosion.

A spokesperson for the HSE confirmed charges would be brought.

“Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into an incident at Avonmouth on 3 December 2020, which resulted in the deaths of four workers, our Legal Services Division has taken the decision to authorise criminal charges against Wessex Water, for offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act,” a spokesperson said.

Wessex Water, a company owned by Malaysian firm YTL, confirmed it had been told the firm would be charged.

A Wessex Water spokesperson said: “The HSE has informed us of its decision to prosecute. We will always remember Brian Vickery, Ray White, Luke Wheaton and Mike James. Our thoughts are with their families, friends and colleagues.”

In the aftermath of the blast, the grieving families of the four who died paid tribute to their loved ones, asked for respect for their privacy and have made no further comments publicly about the ongoing investigation.

Instead, many of the relatives have got involved in fundraising and other projects to honour their loved ones and create a lasting legacy for them.