Driver dead in beer tanker

JW Lees Brewery

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a delivery driver found at the bottom of a beer tanker at the Greengate brewery of JW Lees yesterday.

Staff at the Grimshaw Lane brewery found the body of a man in his 30s at around 3.45pm. The tanker was empty and it isn’t known if he fell through the hatch or climbed down. The driver isn’t thought to be from this area.

More than a dozen firefighters were called to help lift the man from the tanker.

Paul Marston, watch manager at Blackley Fire Station, said: “The man was unconscious when we arrived and our crews took breathing apparatus in with them. We managed to lift him but unfortunately he was pronounced dead a short time later.”

Health and Safety Executive and police officers have launched investigations into the incident.

William Lees-Jones, managing director of JW Lees said: “This has been very upsetting for everyone involved. As a family brewery we’re a close-knit team and we’ll be offering whatever support our team members need, as well as working closely with the authorities to help understand what happened.”