Construction UK Construction Directory
Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
Share this page
Construction News
08/10/2012

Builder Sentenced Over Toddler's Death

A Welsh builder has been sentenced to two years in prison after a three-year-old girl was killed by the collapse of a substandard wall.

George Collier was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter at Mold Crown Court in a case brought forward by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Collier had been undertaking work outside a house in Ffordd Penrhwylfa, Meliden in Prestatyn on 26 July 2008 when the incident occurred.

Three-year-old Meg Burgess and her mother, Lindsay Burgess, were walking in front of the wall on a public footpath.

North Wales Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation, which found the wall had only recently been built.

-- Advertisement --
hss

It was intended as a retaining wall, but had not been designed or built sufficiently for this purpose and subsequently collapsed. The toddler, who was walking behind her mother, was killed.

HSE Inspector Debbie John said: "This was an entirely preventable incident that resulted in the tragic death of an innocent three-year-old girl.

"On the day of the incident George Collier and Parcol Developments Ltd backfilled the wall despite knowing that retaining walls should be designed by a specialist structural engineer. Neither had engaged a structural engineer to design a safe retaining wall."

Rosemary Ainslie, lawyer for the CPS Special Crime division, said: "Mr Collier was responsible for the design and construction of the wall but did not make sure it was built to safe standards, nor did he prevent members of the public from walking past it, with terrible consequences.

George Collier, 49, pleaded not guilty to charges of gross negligence manslaughter December 2011. His company, Parcol Developments pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at the same time.

(IT/GK)

Latest Construction News

03/05/2024

Construction firm GRAHAM has started building work on a £19 million Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) in Workington town centre. The Centre will be located next to Cumberland Council's government-funded Innovation Hub which is also under development in Central Way. GRAHAM is the principal ...
03/05/2024

Significant progress is being made on a new £2 million recycling centre in Haverhill. Construction works are being completed by FCC Environment and its contractor DXI Regeneration Ltd, on behalf of Suffolk County Council. The facility will be operated by FCC Environment, which manages all of ...
03/05/2024

Midlands contractor G F Tomlinson has started work on a new primary school in Dunstall Park Estate, Tamworth. The work is taking place on behalf of Staffordshire County Council alongside project managers and concept architects, Entrust. The project was procured through the Constructing West ...
03/05/2024

Galliford Try has made another step in its carbon reduction journey with the deployment of a new digital platform across its Infrastructure projects. The platform, Qflow, automates data capture and processing by extracting information from delivery and waste tickets, using Artificial Intelligence ...
03/05/2024

Underfloor heating is the most efficient method of heating a room and is fast becoming the most popular option for new building and property refurbishments. As a result, more trade professionals are being asked to install underfloor heating and self-builders and renovators are using it as their ...
03/05/2024

Farrans is making significant progress at Barsham Water Treatment Works in Suffolk, where its client Essex and Suffolk Water is investing more than £49 million in upgrades to the site. Due to be complete in 2025, the project will provide improvements to the resilience and quality of drinking ...
03/05/2024

Work has been completed on a new bridleway bridge at Lindsells Level Crossing in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. Work started in December 2022 on the fully accessible bridleway bridge which allows pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists and other users to safely cross the railway line, providing better ...
03/05/2024

Ideal Work UK has unveiled Microtopping®, a revolutionary cementitious coating that delivers the sleek, sophisticated look of polished concrete with unparalleled versatility and ease of application. ...
03/05/2024

Building work has commenced on a new development in Oundle that will bring self-contained extra care apartments to the area along with 62 homes and three self-build plots. Persimmon's East Midlands team have started preparing the Barnwell Walk site off St Christopher’s Drive in the town and expect ...
03/05/2024

Morgan Sindall has been appointed to two new Pagabo frameworks. The two frameworks are valued at £1.6 billion each and will run for four years. It was confirmed earlier this month that Morgan Sindall had been appointed to the new £1.6bn Healthcare Decarbonisation Framework from Pagabo, which has ...
Efco UK LtdJWCThink Construction Skills Ltd.BRICOFLOR UKLakeside HireAqua Direct LtdScotdeck LtdTanks For Everything LtdBarrier MartCompass Protection Manufacturing Limited
Terms and Conditions
2024/05/05 05:21:59