It was madness to open cockle beds (From Lancaster And Morecambe Citizen)

It was madness to open cockle beds

12:55pm Wednesday 12th October 2005

• Print
• Email
• Share

A MAN with detailed knowledge of the sands and tides on Morecambe Bay yesterday described the decision to open the Bay's cockle beds to people with no experience of the sands as "foolhardy" and "madness."

Queen's Guide to the Sands Cedric Robinson, of Grange-over-Sands, told the jury at the Chinese cockle pickers trial, which opened at Preston Crown Court on Monday, that from the moment the fishing authorities opened up the cockle beds in December 2003, "it was a disaster waiting to happen".

"We think about these things afterwards when it's too late it was clearly foolhardy and madness to do so."

Lin Liang Ren, 29, from Liverpool, denies 21 counts of manslaughter. He also faces charges of facilitation and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice along with his girlfriend at the time Zhao Xiao Qing, 19, from Liverpool. Both deny the charges.

Lin Mu Yong, 31, from Liverpool, denies facilitation in connection with the deaths of 23 Chinese cocklers in Morecambe Bay in February last year.

Two men, David Eden 62, from Irby and his son also called David, 34, from Prenton, also deny facilitation.

Mr Robinson, who leads regular walks across Morecambe Bay, told the court that he thought the many cockles where the tragedy happened would never be gathered because it was too dangerous to do so.

The court was also reminded of a TV interview Mr Robinson gave shortly after the tragedy in which he said if he could give the order to close the beds he would have done so that very minute.

Morecambe Bay was described as a beautifully benign, calm place, inviting to people when the tide is out.

"The lay person would not see any danger but the sands are a death trap," said Mr Robinson.

The court heard how gangs of cocklers who had no experience of the dangerous tides were regularly found out on the sands.

Mr Robinson said he had seen a last minute rescue on at least one occasion prior to the tragedy.

He also said that part of problem was that none of the Chinese cocklers could understand English and therefore could not call for help or read the tide tables.

On the opening day of the trial, the jury of two men and ten women was told by Tim Holroyde QC how the Chinese cockle pickers, all of whom were illegal immigrants, drowned because Lin Liang Ren failed to take proper care for their safety as they worked for low wages on a cold and dark February night.

Mr Holroyde told the court that Ren was the gangmaster' controlling the cockle pickers in Liverpool and that his cousin, Lin Mu Yong, had workers in Morecambe.

"There was going to be a high tide and bad weather," said Mr Holroyde. "The local cockle pickers either did not go out at all or went out for a short time and came safely back to shore well before the tide came in.

"But not so with the Chinese cocklers in Lin Liang Ren's gang. They stayed out too long and were trapped as the tide came in. Lin Liang Ren's gang of cockle pickers were not out on the sands as sightseers. They were not there simply standing around. They were hard at work, heads down in the wind and the rain.

"For them the risk of the tide rushing in unnoticed behind them was all the greater."

Mr Holroyde claimed Ren provided food and accommodation for his workers by renting properties that were greatly' overcrowded with many people sharing each room.

He paid the workers' wages based on how many bags they had picked, although he made deductions for housing and food.

The jury was told how his girlfriend, Zhao Xiao Qing, who came into the country as a student, helped look for accommodation for the workers, buying vehicles and completing false applications for permits.

In August 2003, a property on Rydal Road in Morecambe was rented for £150 per week by Lin Mu Yong. Together, the court heard, he and Lin Liang Ren had tenancy agreements on five properties in Morecambe and Liverpool.

"As time went by the number of persons living in the house increased: on an occasion in the autumn when the landlord's agent visited, he found at least 30 mattresses, but no other furniture. The conditions in which they lived were severely overcrowded, to the extent that the local authority served a notice to end the tenancy on that ground," said Mr Holroyde.

"The Chinese occupants nonetheless stayed on, but disappeared after the tragedy, leaving about 20 mattresses behind."

David Eden, 61, and has son David Eden, known as Tony, 33, both from Merseyside, and owners of Liverpool Bay Fishing Company, are charged with facilitation.

The court was told how the Edens ran the Liverpool Bay Fishing Company and bought cockles for onward sale in England and abroad.

It is claimed that Ren found a buyer in Tony Eden, who agreed to pay £15 per bag.

When Ren's gang moved on to the sands in January, Mr Holroyde said there were confrontations between the British and the Chinese cocklers, which resulted in bags of cockles being set alight. He then said that Tony Eden had reported to the police receiving threatening phone calls because he was buying off the Chinese.

"The Edens knew full well that the Chinese cockle pickers were illegal immigrants and were helping those workers to remain in this country by buying the cockles which they had picked," said Mr Holroyde.

The trial continues.

• Print
• Email
• Share