THE mother of a young dad who died at work has said no sentence does justice to an “irreplaceable life”, after company bosses guilty of health and safety breaches that led to his death were jailed.

Owners of SR and RJ Brown, Christopher and James Brown, of Lower Gollinrod Farm, Walmersley, were both sentenced to 20 months in prison for failing to ensure Benjamin Edge’s safety at work, and then trying to cover up their shortcomings, perverting the course of justice.

Mark Aspin, owner of contractor MA Excavations, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for failing to ensure work was planned safely, and exposing workers to risk, at Fletcher Bank Quarry, in Ramsbottom, where 25-year-old Mr Edge slipped and fell to his death in torrid weather conditions.

SR and RJ Brown has been fined £300,000 having pleaded guilty to corporate manslaughter, and MA Excavations was fined £150,000 for exposing workers to risk.

Mother of Benjamin Edge, who died after falling from roof at work, pays tribute to her 'beautiful' son

Owners Christopher and James Brown, aged 25 and 32 respectively, as individuals have also admitted separate charges of failing to ensure Mr Edge’s safety.

Mark Aspin, director of MA Excavations Limited, the contractor in charge of dismantling the part of the site from which Mr Edge fell, previosuly admitted to health and safety offences.

Outside court after sentencing this afternoon, Mr Edge’s mum Janet Edge said: “The sentence given to those responsible for Ben’s death and for their abhorrent actions bears nothing compared to the life sentence my family and I began on December 10 2014, nor does it do justice to an irreplaceable life – one that would have made a difference in this world.

“Why Ben was on that roof in the most appalling weather conditions seen for a long time we will never know.

“He was a qualified land based agricultural engineer and was not qualified to work on that structure.”

During a two-day sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court, the court heard how Christopher and James Brown, brothers aged 25 and 32 respectively, attempted to cover up what was a “gross dereliction” of their duty as employers, according to judge Mr Justice Peter Openshaw.

They then colluded in creating backdated health and safety assessments during the afternoon after Mr Edge fell, and ordered another worker, Peter Heap, aged 33, to fetch lanyards and harnesses to make it look like Mr Edge had been provided with the correct equipment and chosen not to use it.

Heap himself received a four-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, for what the judge described as “foolishly, weakly and criminally - as he now realises” carrying out the orders.

Mrs Edge added: “We are tormented by the circumstances under which Ben died, but worse of all and one word that constantly tortures us is ‘betrayal’.

“Ben was betrayed by those responsible since the second he fell from the roof to this day.

“In the aftermath of the fall, when Ben was dying, their sole interest was self-preservation through perverting the course of justice in a futile attempt to lay blame on an innocent, dying young man.

“We have had to wait two years living with our dignity and sorrow in this nightmare, unable to speak out until today.

“We have often wondered how victims find forgiveness in them after the loss of a loved one. We have no forgiveness and never will while we have a breath in our bodies.

“We would like to thank our family, and both ours and Ben’s friends, for their unwavering support through the most challenging time of our lives.

“We will continue to love and remember Ben as we have done every day and for every day to come.”

Sentencing, Mr Justice Openshaw said the Brown brothers’ business – an agricultural firm which has never carried out deconstruction work – should have never attempted to carry out the job of dismantling the 6 metre-high shed at the quarry near Shuttleworth.

He said: “It was a ridiculous attempt to carry out a job for which they were not capable of.

“Serious injury was, in my opinion, virtually inevitable.”

The court heard how another company had previously refused to carry out the job for Mark Aspin’s company MA Excavations because of concerns of the safety of the site, which was difficult to access and covered in floodwater.

Offering the work to the Brown brothers, Aspin made no attempt to find out about risk assessments or method statements.

Mr Justice Openshaw added that both companies “fell well short of industry standards”.

HSE Inspector Laura Moran said after the hearing: “The dangers associated with working at height are well known and the law and the associated guidance is very clear.

“S.R. & R. J. Brown Limited were not competent to carry out this work and, through its directors Christopher and James Brown, it completely failed in its duties as an employer to properly plan the work and to ensure it was carried out safely.

“The main contractor, M.A. Excavations Limited, and its Director Mark Aspin failed to carry out any checks to ensure that S.R. & R.J. Brown had the necessary knowledge, experience and equipment to carry out the work safely; instead, they allowed the work to proceed in a completely unsafe manner.

“The failings of both companies and the three Directors sentenced today put those working on the project at significant risk, ultimately costing Mr. Edge his life in what was a completely foreseeable and avoidable incident.”

Detective Constable David Potter, of GMP’s Bury borough, said: “This is a tragic set of circumstances that has led to the needless death of a young man which has devastated his family.

“These failings were flagrant breaches of the employer’s legal duties and his young daughter will now have to grow up without her dad because of their actions.

“They were trying to make it look like the victim was at fault by falsely suggesting that he had ignored management instructions and that he had taken his harness off.

“I hope that the sentences passed today can help to bring closure to Ben’s family and they can try to move forward.”