Lovells fined for seven-year-old's death

Lovells Partnerships was fined £75,000 yesterday after a seven-year-old boy plummetted to his death from one of its buildings under construction.

The housebuilder was refurbishing a block of flats in Washington, north-east England. It had erected scaffolding to use for about half an hour, but it was left up for 12 days. The lower ladder had been removed, but it could still be accessed by jumping from balconies on either side or climbing the first section of scaffold. Children climbed up to the roof of the building, three floors up, from where one fell to his death.

The company pleaded guilty at Newcastle crown court, and was ordered to pay costs of £46,109 on top of the fine.

Rob Hirst, the HSE's principal inspector, said: “Sadly, this tragic incident could so easily have been avoided. The scaffold was only required for a fraction of the time it was erected. It was taken down immediately after the incident but this death may have been prevented had it been removed promptly when it was no longer needed.

As we know, construction sites have always been an attraction to children of all ages who can sometimes view them simply as exciting adventure playgrounds. In doing so they fail to recognise the dangers that they can put themselves in when playing on sites. All constructors must be aware and take action to prevent this unauthorised and highly dangerous access to building sites.”