A COTSWOLDS company has been the first to be charged with corporate manslaughter in England and Wales following the death of a young employee in a mudslide.

Cotswold Geotech Ltd, based in Birdlip, could face an unlimited fine for the incident when junior geologist Alex Wright, 27, was killed when a trench he was working in collapsed on him in Brimscombe, near Stroud, on September 5 last year.

Company director Peter Eaton has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Mr Wright, from Cheltenham, had been taking soil samples in the pit at a property in Brimscombe Lane, which had been granted outline planning permission for the building of two houses.

The geology graduate was declared dead at the scene but it took rescue workers more than 48-hours to free his body from tonnes of dense mud.

The Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges on April 23 following an investigation into the death.

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into force in April 2008.

An inquest ruled Mr Wright died from traumatic asphyxia and was then adjourned to until a date that has still yet to be set.

Mr Wright was a popular scout leader and lived with his parents Joe and Shelley Wright and 24-year-old brother Alex in Charlton Kings. He had worked for Cotswold Geotech for two years.

Mr Eaton will appear at Stroud Magistrates Court on June 17.