Crewe crane collapse victim was teenager on first job

Grant Prior 7 years ago
Share

The two victims of a tower crane collapse in Crewe on Wednesday have been named by police.

David Newall, 36, from Bradford and Rhys Barker, 18, from Castleford were working for Falcon Tower Crane Servives at the Seddon site in Dunwoody Way when the crane collapsed while it was being erected.

Both died at the scene from crush injuries.

A third man – David Webb, 45, – was taken to Royal Stoke with serious injuries. The 45-year-old from Glossop remains in a stable condition.

Barker’s family told the BBC it was his first job after leaving school.

Seddon chief executive Jonathan Seddon said the accident happened “during the erection of a tower crane by Falcon Tower Crane Services Ltd.”

He added: “The incident resulted in the tragic deaths of two crane erectors and the serious, but not life threatening, injuries to another man.

“I cannot speculate as to the cause of the incident whilst the facts have not yet been established.

“Needless to say, Seddon is co-operating with the Police and Health and Safety Executive during the course of the investigation.

“Seddon takes its health and safety responsibilities very seriously.

“Appropriate action will be taken as a result of this tragic incident and as a business, across all Seddon sites, we will continue to take all reasonable measures to keep people safe.

“Can I again take this opportunity on behalf of myself and everyone at Seddon to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of those men who so tragically lost their lives on Wednesday.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with everybody involved.”

Falcon Tower Crane Services said: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic accident.

“Rhys Barker and David Newall were highly regarded and popular members of our staff.

“Their deaths were untimely and deeply regretted by all their friends and colleagues who wish to express their deepest and sincere condolences to their family and friends. Our thoughts go out to their families whose welfare is uppermost at this difficult time.

“We also share our deepest concern for those who were injured and we wish David Webb a speedy and complete recovery.

“We consider health and safety to be of paramount importance and we have taken every step to ensure that all procedures are conducted as safely and efficiently as possible.

“We will leave no stone unturned to establish what went wrong and we will co-operate fully with all authorities to understand fully the causes of this tragic accident and to learn all safety lessons to be sure that safety remains of paramount importance.”

Latest news

Caddick to build £42m Schneider Electric factory

New facility at Scarborough Business Park will open next year
10 hours ago

Barratt, Lloyds and Homes England form JV for large housing schemes

Master developer JV to advance schemes of up to 10,000 homes
17 hours ago

Eric Wright Construction books best profit for 12 years

Construction drives growth in more challenging year for group profitability
18 hours ago

National Grid fined £3.2m after pylon accident

Worker suffers 40% burns from 33,000 volt shock
17 hours ago

Civils contractor Glenevin goes into administration

All staff made redundant at £38.2m turnover broadband infrastructure specialist
16 hours ago

Fusion go-ahead for 700-bed Cardiff student scheme

Building works to get underway at the start of 2025
1 day ago

Go-ahead for Salford 568 flat co-living scheme

Contractor talks underway for 42-storey residential tower
1 day ago

McAlpine healthcare MD joins BAM as Northern chief

Mark Gibson joins as Northern regional director
4 days ago

HS2 Align JV completes Britain’s longest rail bridge – video

Final deck segment sees HS2 viaduct break 137-year old record held by Tay Bridge
4 days ago

Green light for major London city fringe office retrofit

Overhaul of 30 Finsbury Square to start next Summer
4 days ago

John Lewis submits plan for £80m Reading rental flats scheme

Construction hoped to start on 215 flats scheme at the start of 2026
4 days ago

Balfour Beatty lands £27m Highlands flood defence scheme

Work to start imminently building river walls in Comrie
4 days ago

Buyers believe construction has “turned a corner”

Residential rebounds, commercial still strong but civils slows
5 days ago

Vistry unseats Barratt as Britain’s biggest house builder

Partnership homes specialist on track to build 18,000 homes this year
5 days ago

23 jobs axed as Lincolnshire contractor goes under

C G Godfrey provided civils and M&E services in Eastern England
5 days ago

Winvic first to use remote-control tower crane on site

Crane driver sits in ground floor command centre at Birmingham 33-storey tower
5 days ago

Starmer vows to ban Grenfell firms from public contracts

Prime Minister to write to named and shamed construction firms
5 days ago

Grenfell Inquiry calls for uber construction regulator

Shake-up must include licensing of main contractors taking on high rise projects
6 days ago

Robertson to restore historic Newcastle market

Work to revamp Grainger Market to start by the end of this month
5 days ago

Three bidders chase £1.4bn Midlands rail hub alliance

Balfour, Skanska, Bam and Laing O'Rouke in bidding for eight-year rail upgrade
6 days ago

Barratt profit nosedives as margin slumps to 4.2%

Fire safety provisions jump by an extra £126m to total £628m
6 days ago

First viaduct completed on HS2: Video site report

Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and Bam Nuttall finish 163m long Highfurlong Brook Viaduct
6 days ago

Bouygues bags £28m Oxfordshire school job

St John’s Academy to be at heart of Wellington Gate Development
6 days ago

Willmott Dixon wins £49m Wigan college expansion

New campus for Wigan & Leigh College to be net zero in operation
6 days ago

Work to start on Liverpool office to flats job

Truman D&B wins resi conversion in Moorfields district
6 days ago

Government mothballs plan to scrap CE Mark

Building safety minister warns there is insufficient capacity in present testing regime
7 days ago

Government backs record number of clean energy projects

131 projects will produce electricity to power 11 million homes.
7 days ago

Tube station housing plan gets Government green light

Plans to transform Cockfosters Tube station were blocked by previous regime
7 days ago

Go-ahead for Bristol Temple Quay hotel and build to rent job

A trio of blocks will house a 230-room hotel, 170-room apart-hotel and 100 rental flats
7 days ago

Construction costs cut for Plymouth city centre revamp

Price of Armada Way scheme falls to £30m after exploratory work on site
7 days ago

Contractor services