Four charged over death of man after he was restrained by public transport workers

Jack Barnes died seven weeks after being restrained by four men who were staff members subcontracted by Metrolink public transport staff on the Manchester tram system

Four men will be charged with unlawful act manslaughter over the death of Jack Barnes after he was restrained by public transport workers on the Manchester Metrolink tram system, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The dad-of-one, from Hull, suffered a cardiac arrest and died seven weeks after the incident on October 11, 2016, which saw him restrained face-down on the pavement following an altercation at a railway station.

Metrolink’s official policy at the time was that workers cannot “grab hold of a person” or “pursue a passenger either off the platform or trackside”.

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS special crime division, said on Thursday: “Paul Fogarty, 50, Brian Gartside, 59, Stephen Rowlands, 67, and Matthew Sellers, 29, who were staff members subcontracted by Metrolink at the time, are to be charged with unlawful act manslaughter. Mr Rowlands will also be charged with a single offence of perverting the course of justice relating to a witness statement.”