Sentencing Hearing in Norfolk Factory Gas Deaths Case

Two pest control workers died from asphyxiation after entering a narrow passageway filled with toxic nitrogen gas at a chicken processing factory in Norfolk, a court heard during a sentencing hearing this week.

Neil Moon, 49, and Jonathan "Jon" Collins, 34, were conducting routine pest control tasks at Banham Poultry in Attleborough on October 4, 2018, when the incident occurred. The men arrived at the site around 8:30 a.m., as captured on CCTV footage shown in Norwich Crown Court. They were last seen alive at 11:40 a.m. When they failed to return home that evening, concerned relatives contacted police, prompting a search that led to the discovery of their bodies around 1 a.m. in a one-man-width corridor between the factory and adjacent railway tracks. Evidence at the scene included frost on their hands, faces, and the ground, indicating exposure to the freezing gas.

Prosecutor Craig Hassall KC told the court the deaths resulted from a dislodged duct pipe connected to the factory's chicken chilling system, which released concentrated, colorless, and odorless nitrogen into the confined space. "Ultimately, they were killed by a colourless, odourless gas. When they walked into the...