Britannia Hotels Ltd, the operator of the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, is due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday facing 20 health and safety charges after a 21-year-old woman died when a wardrobe fell on her. Chloe Haynes was found dead in her hotel room on September 10, 2022, having been crushed by the heavy furniture.
Background of the Incident
Chloe had travelled from Hafan y Mor Haven Holiday Park in Pwllheli, North Wales, where she worked, for a night out in Liverpool. She was sharing a room with a colleague who discovered her body and raised the alarm. Her mother, Nicola Williams, told the Liverpool Echo: "It seems she has got up out of the bed confused, not knowing where she is, and she's opened the door of the wardrobe, maybe thinking it is the toilet or the door to go back out of the room. It was a big, old, heavy wardrobe and it's fallen on her and crushed her windpipe."
Three men were initially arrested on suspicion of murder but were released without charge after her death was ruled accidental. One of them, Wayne Kenny from Bootle, who had attempted CPR, said: "I was thinking, could I get accused for something I haven't done? Could they make a mistake? To be thinking that for 10 hours was hard work."
Legal Proceedings
The prosecution, brought by Liverpool City Council, includes charges under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The case was sent to the crown court from Liverpool Magistrates' Court in May after Britannia Hotels indicated it would not enter a plea. District Judge Paul Healey said: "Because a plea has not been indicated, I have to consider whether a trial can take place in the magistrates' court or whether it should be sent to the crown court for a trial to take place."
Keith Morton KC, representing Britannia Hotels, stated the company would not indicate a plea. The charges also relate to an incident in August 2024 involving three-year-old Valencia Verdin, who was injured when a cabinet fell on her at the same hotel. Her mother, Danielle Kenny, described how her daughter's face was left "pouring with blood" and required treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Details of the Charges
The 20 counts allege failures to secure windows in guest rooms with appropriate control measures and to secure wardrobes to prevent them from toppling over in six different hotel rooms, as well as similar failures regarding a cabinet in another room. The charges cover dates between January 2021 and August 2025. A Britannia Hotels spokesman said in April: "We can confirm that Liverpool City Council has initiated legal proceedings in relation to the Adelphi Hotel and we are fully cooperating with the legal process. Our sympathies remain with the families and loved ones of those involved."
The case is listed before Judge Brian Cummings KC at Liverpool Crown Court. No date has been set for a trial.
