Heartbreak as mum plunged 12ft into pub cellar while setting up for her daughter's party
The owners of the pub were spared jail after Olwen Collier, 69, was told to "go around the corner, bear right" as she looked for its function suite.
A mum died after she plunged 12ft through a pub cellar while setting up for her daughter's birthday party.
The owners of the pub were spared jail after Olwen Collier, 69, was told by landlord Philip Hawkins, 49, "go around the corner, bear right" as she looked for its function suite.
The door to the function room was marked “toilets”, leading Mrs Collier to believe she had picked the correct one.
But instead, the mum-of-two fell through the cellar of the Stag and Pheasant in the village of Carmel in south Wales in January last year.
Lee Reynolds, speaking for the prosecution, said Mrs Collier's grandson, Emyr Raymond, had asked the landlord why the door was open directly afterward and he told him he had been "changing the barrels".
Mrs Collier was rushed to hospital with fractures to her skull and severe swelling to her brain, where she was placed in an induced coma but could not be saved and died three days later on January 16, 2023.
Sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas told Swansea Crown Court dim lighting, poor signage and unclear directions led Mrs Collier to enter the unlocked cellar.
He told Hawkins and his wife, Tracy, 53, who he ran the pub with, that "a healthy, adored lady lost her life because you two did not take sufficient, even the most basic care, in the safety of your customers".
He also said Mrs Collier's death was "utterly tragic and utterly avoidable" as the door was a "fatal accident waiting to happen".
The judge added: “The word tragic is often overused, even in these courts. This case, however, fully merits that description.
“What was meant to be a joyous family occasion turned into the saddest of events."
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Mr Thomas said that while he was sure the family would want him to “throw away the key” and described the events as a “thoughtless error with devastating consequences”, he did not feel an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate.
Ian Ibrahim, for the defence, said the pair were “broken people” following the incident and had admitted guilt at the earliest opportunity.
The pub owners were sentenced to 18 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months.
The husband, who was considered more culpable by the judge, was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
The pair, both of Llandeilo Road in Carmel, previously pleaded guilty to failing to discharge general health and safety duty to a person other than an employee.
