Cot bed designer jailed over York baby choke death failure

Craig Williams Image copyright Ben Lack
Image caption Craig Williams admitted two charges at Leeds Crown Court and has been jailed

A bed firm boss who designed a cot in which a seven-month-old baby "choked to death" has been jailed for three years and four months.

Craig Williams's Playtime Beds Ltd sold the cot bed where Oscar Abbey got stuck trying to crawl through a gap.

Oscar was found by his parents caught in the side of the bed at their home in York on 3 November 2016.

Williams, 37, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, had pleaded guilty to two charges at Leeds Crown Court.

He admitted a health and safety failing to discharge the employer's general duty and a fraud charge.

A jury in his trial was asked to return a not guilty verdict to gross negligence manslaughter.

Judge Martin Spencer said Williams had a "significant responsibility" for Oscar's death and told him: "You should bear the brunt of that responsibility for the rest of your life."

Williams's employee, Joseph Bruce, 31, of Kimberworth Park Road, Rotherham, was jailed for six months after admitting fraud.

Judge Spencer added: "It is pure fortune that no other child did die, and that is no thanks to [Williams] or Mr Bruce."

Williams would "almost certainly" have been guilty of manslaughter if another child had passed away in a cot sold by his Playtime Beds Ltd company following Oscar's death, the judge said.

The judge said Williams had shown a "flagrant disregard" for the public in his failure to adhere to safety regulations.