Skip to content

Man to be sentenced five years after worker's death

Ben Parkerat Ipswich Crown Court
Suffolk Police Peter Clifford's custody image. He looks expressionless at the camera. He is wearing a white T-shirt.Suffolk Police
Peter Clifford pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter earlier this year after construction worker Dale Baker died in 2020 carrying out a house renovation

A man is due to be sentenced after the death of a construction worker more than five years ago.

Peter Clifford, 63, formerly of Holland Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter at a hearing in February.

Worker Dale Baker, 30, who was from Felixstowe, sustained serious injuries while carrying out renovations on a house in Woodbridge on 15 December 2020, and died at the scene.

A Newton hearing, which is a mini-trial and heard without a jury, is due to be held on 15 September at Ipswich Crown Court, to establish the facts in the case ahead of sentencing.

A red brick house with a police car parked outside. There are construction materials and machinery in front of the house along with a portable toilet. Police tape has been put across some of the items.
Police officers were called to a house which had been undergoing renovations in December 2020

A warrant for Clifford's arrest had been issued by the court after he failed to attend a number of hearings.

He was arrested by Police Scotland at an address in Aberdeenshire before being brought back to Suffolk.

Newton hearings are held when the prosecution and defence barristers do not agree on what is a fact in the case.

A judge will make the final decision before considering what sentence to hand down.

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Related internet links