Two directors of a construction firm have received suspended prison sentences following the death of a 20-year-old man on his first day at work. Daniel Whiston died in October 2009 when the four-tonne dumper he was driving toppled over a bank, crushing him underneath it. Exeter Crown Court was told that he was working for Wedge-wood Buildings Ltd, of which William Friend and Robert Plume were directors. The firm had been hired to expand a pond on a farm. This involved excavating and moving spoil around the site using the dumper truck. The court heard that Mr Whiston had been allowed to drive the dumper, which had a number of serious defects, after 30 minutes of training by a colleague who was operating the excavator.
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