Widow of 'gentle-giant' crushed under 1,000 tonne press pays heartbreaking tribute to her 'soulmate'

A woman whose husband was killed after being crushed under a 1,000-tonne hydraulic press at work has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her "soulmate." Collin Willoughby, 52, died instantly following the accident at Graham Engineering Ltd in Nelson in Lancashire. The firm was fined more than half a million pounds at Preston Crown Court last week after admitting health and safety failures which resulted in his death.

His devastated wife, Jayne Willoughby has now spoken of the moment she was told her husband had died, telling Lancs Live she felt her life had also ended that day. She also expressed her heartbreak that her husband never had the chance to meet his granddaughter.

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On May 21, 2018, Jayne returned home to find two police officers at her front door. She said her first thoughts were that she might have gone through a red light. "The police came in and told me there had been an accident at work. They wanted me to sit down, but I wouldn’t. I just collapsed in a chair and started shaking," she said.

"Before we met, life was lonely for both of us. After we met, we came together and achieved all our dreams. Everything was taken away from us." Colin had recently been promoted in his role at Graham Engineering Ltd and the firm had secured a contract with Siemens to manufacture parts for MRI scanners.

Company director Stuart Frazer had acquired the Hugh Smith hydraulic press and believed it would be suitable for the job - however the machine needed maintenance. But as Colin worked underneath the press, grinding away at poor quality welding, tragedy struck when a piston came loose and crushed him underneath the press.

"Overnight,