Family's pain revealed after loss

The mother of a tragic Bilston paint stripper who died after inhaling chemical fumes at work told today how her family had been "torn apart with grief".

Dean Cox's mother Karen said the heart and soul of the family had been "ripped out" when the 21-year-old was overcome by vapours from a paintstripping tank.

Yesterday Mr Cox's boss John Beckett, aged 44, was cleared of manslaughter through gross negligence, but he admitted a health and safety charge and was fined £17,500.

A judge said Mr Cox had died because of the boss's failure to ensure a safe system of work was being used.

Beckett was the owner of A1 Paintstrippers in Horseley Fields, where Mr Cox was his "right hand man".

Mr Cox is thought to have been leaning over a vat of volatile chemicals to work on aluminium wheels when he was overcome by the fumes in September, 2006.

Prosecutors claimed Beckett, of Kimberley Rise, West Bromwich, had a "cavalier" attitude to safety and had failed to prevent staff from leaning into the tank.Beckett told the trial that he insisted Mr Cox and a co-worker should use a hook to remove the wheels from the tank, and not their hands.

Fining Beckett, who has now shut A1, Judge Richard Griffith-Jones said: "One of the obvious and serious aggravating features is that a young man's life was risked and then lost as a result of your failure to ensure a safe system of work was applied."

Mrs Cox, along with husband Malcolm, gave evidence about how Dean's health appeared to have suffered while he was working at A1.

She revealed how her son had died two days before her wedding anniversary.

She said: "He did not deserve to die due to the lack of care and supervision by the boss who was totally responsible for ensuring the safety of his employees.

"We are trying to carry on with our lives, but it is very hard when such a very important part of our lives is not there.

"Dean was loved by so many people and liked by everyone he met."

She added: "Losing him has touched so many people and left our family torn apart with grief."

By Crime Correspondent Mike Woods