Co-op fined £400,000 for customer's death in store

The Co-op has been fined £400,000 after a man died when he slipped on water which had leaked from a chiller.

Stanley May, 74, was taken ill after he slipped on the floor of the Co-op store in Truro and hit his head in July 2015.

A court was told his death was one of thousands of similar incidents in Co-op stores and the chiller had been faulty for two days.

His daughter, Victoria Parsons, spoke outside court about her devastation at losing her Dad and told journalists he was a "very special person".

The company admitted breaching Health and Safety regulations at anearlier hearing and admitted failing to protect customers.

The court was told an engineer had been called to fix the leak twodays earlier but it continued to leak.

A warning sign was in place but adequate measures were not put in placeto deal with the spillage.

The Co-Op said it has taken steps to prevent more accidents including placing mats in store to deal with spillages and leaks.

The company also said it had settled a civil claim with Mr. May's family well above what is required by law and made a substantial donation to a charity of their choice.