Two companies charged with the deaths of two men at a Norfolk chicken factory may not face trial for a year and a half.
Banham Poultry Limited, which went into administration in October 2018, and Air Products PLC have both been charged with two counts of corporate manslaughter.
It follows the deaths of pest control subcontractors Jonathan Collins, 34, from Watton, and Neil Moon, 49, from Spalding, who had been working at the Banham Poultry factory in Attleborough.
Both were found dead in the early hours of October 4, 2018.
Police at Banham Poultry (Image: Newsquest) Representatives for Banham Poultry Limited, which is also being prosecuted for two health and safety violations, and Air Products PLC, which also faces one count of failing to discharge health and safety duties, appeared at Norwich Crown Court on Monday.
No pleas were taken but a provisional six-week trial, due to start on February 23, 2026, was set by Judge Anthony Bate.
The prosecution follows investigations by detectives from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team, working alongside the Health and Safety Executive.
Forensic services van at Banham Poultry (Image: Newsquest) An inquest has previously heard both men were discovered with frozen hands and faces in a narrow space between an exterior wall of the factory and the wall of the railway station.
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