CLOSING speeches have begun in the case of a factory boss accused of manslaughter.
Factory Cover managing director John Elders is standing trial at Teesside Crown Court accused of the manslaughter of father-of-three Stanley Dawson.
Teesside Crown Court previously heard that Mr Dawson died of head injuries after falling through the roof of a Billingham warehouse, on which he was working in May 2000.
Mr Elders, 48, and his company deny the manslaughter of the 50-year-old from Huxley Walk, Hartlepool.
Mr Elders, of The Green, Elwick, near Hartlepool, had denied two breaches of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act, but earlier this week he changed his plea to guilty.
The firm, of Tofts Farm Industrial Estate, Hartlepool, admits failing to make an adequate risk assessment and failing to provide adequate safety equipment.
Simon Jackson, prosecuting, and Gary Burrell, defending, made their speeches to the jury yesterday and Judge David Bryant is expected to sum up today.
The case continues.
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