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| Apple farm boss Andrew Stocker guilty of manslaughter | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A farm manager has been convicted of the manslaughter of two workers who died after being sent into a storage tank while holding their breath. | |
| Scott Cain and Ashley Clarke suffocated in the nitrogen-filled apple container, where the oxygen level was 1%. | |
| They were trying to retrieve apples for an agricultural competition. | They were trying to retrieve apples for an agricultural competition. |
| Andrew Stocker, who was boss of the fruit farm at Tory peer Lord Selborne's Hampshire estate, had encouraged the practice nicknamed "scuba diving". | Andrew Stocker, who was boss of the fruit farm at Tory peer Lord Selborne's Hampshire estate, had encouraged the practice nicknamed "scuba diving". |
| The two men got in through a small hatch in the roof of the sealed container. | The two men got in through a small hatch in the roof of the sealed container. |
| Stocker, 57, of The Links, Whitehill, Bordon, Hampshire, had denied manslaughter, but admitted exposing the men to a risk of death. | Stocker, 57, of The Links, Whitehill, Bordon, Hampshire, had denied manslaughter, but admitted exposing the men to a risk of death. |
| He was on holiday in the Maldives at the time of the men's deaths, but had left instructions. | He was on holiday in the Maldives at the time of the men's deaths, but had left instructions. |
| Mr Cain, 23, and Mr Clarke, 24, who were both assistants at the farm, were found lying on crates of apples. | Mr Cain, 23, and Mr Clarke, 24, who were both assistants at the farm, were found lying on crates of apples. |
| Colleagues and paramedics attempted to revive them, but were unsuccessful and both men were declared dead at the scene. | |
| Mark Dennis QC, prosecuting during the trial at Winchester Crown Court, said anyone entering the unit would "die immediately" once they ran out of air. | |
| The apples were stored for preservation in nitrogen gas. | |
| Mr Dennis said accepted practice in the industry for gathering samples was to use a net to hook out the fruit. | |
| The apples the men were looking for were to be entered in the Marden Fruit Show in Kent. | |
| Mr Dennis said: "Andrew Stocker was a keen participant in this competition and took pride in his entries. | |
| "Financial prizes were very modest; however, it was the kudos of winning that was more important. | |
| "The defendant knew that the only way the best samples could be gathered is for someone to enter from the top hatch and make a selection of fruit." |