Today (17th July 2018) marks three years since the tragic explosion at a wood mill in Bosley, near Macclesfield, where four workers lost their lives.
The explosion at Wood Treatment Ltd took the lives of mill workers Derek Moore, Dorothy Bailey, William Barks and Jason Shingler.
A special memorial service with the theme ‘supporting one another’ was held at St Mary’s Church in Bosley on Sunday 15th July 2018.
The moving service of remembrance was attended by members of the community as well as MP for Macclesfield, David Rutley; mayor of Cheshire East, Cllr Lesley Smetham; leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Rachel Bailey plus representatives of Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.
It was an opportunity to pay respects to the families of those affected by the incident, and to remember the four people who lost their lives.
At the service, it was confirmed that the names of those lost will be engraved on a memorial bench in the church graveyard later this month.
Cheshire Police have issued a statement to coincide with the third anniversary, saying: “Our thoughts remain very much with all those affected by this tragic incident – including the family, friends and colleagues of those who sadly died.”
It added: “We are continuing to provide support to the families of Derek Moore, 62, Dorothy Bailey, 62, William Barks, 51, and Jason Shingler, 38, who sadly lost their lives and they are being kept fully updated on the progress of the investigation.
“The joint investigation is being managed by Cheshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive.
“Due to the highly complex nature of the case it will take time to come to a conclusion but we are fully committed to doing everything we can to carry out as thorough an investigation as possible into what happened that day.
“Detectives have been liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service for advice and we will provide a further update once we have submitted our file to them.”
Iain Brodie, deputy director at the HSE, assured locals that the HSE continues to support the police investigation, with inspectors and specialists from a broad range of disciplines and divisions working with officers from Cheshire Police.
MP David Rutley said: “Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of those who lost loved ones in the tragic explosion at Wood Treatment Ltd.”
He added: “I continue to keep in contact with the HSE and met recently for a further update.
“At that meeting, senior HSE representatives assured me that the investigation remains thorough and rigorous.
“Local residents can be assured that I will continue to actively support these investigations, so that those affected by this tragic incident get the answers that they want and deserve.”
Image: MP David Rutley with Cllr Lesley Smetham, mayor of Cheshire East, attend Bosley memorial service
