Worker paralysed in 30ft fall during electricity pylon demolition

Grant Prior 5 months ago
Share

Wood Transmission and Distribution Limited has been fined £240,000 after a man was left paralysed from the chest down after falling from an electricity pylon during demolition work.

An HSE photo of the accident scene
An HSE photo of the accident scene

Gavin Pugh, from Bangor in North Wales, was 35 at the time of the incident and employed as a linesman by Wood Transmission and Distribution Limited. He had been demolishing and replacing electricity pylons in East Staffordshire when he fell more than 30 feet on 6 April 2022.

Birmingham Magistrates Court was told how Pugh and his colleagues began working on a pylon known as Tower AE11 in preparation for its demolition.

They were unaware there had been previous work to loosen the bolts on the tower, known as “bolt cracking”, undertaken by another team of linesmen. This work had not been risk assessed and there were no systems in place to effectively record and communicate what they had actually done.

In addition, the team that was sent to site that day was also under-staffed for the work being carried out. As the job progressed, Pugh unknowingly attached his fall protection lanyard to a diagonal steel section that was only securely bolted in place at its uppermost fixing.

As he moved around the tower, the steel section he was attached to dropped into a vertical position, causing his lanyard to fall loose, resulting in him falling to the ground. He spent six months in hospital and has been left unable to work as a result of his extensive injuries.

An HSE investigation found that Wood Transmission and Distribution Limited failed to ensure that the work at height was properly planned, appropriately supervised, and carried out in a manner that was, so far as was reasonably practicable, safe.

The company had not considered the work at height hierarchy as part of its planning and had not assessed the risks associated with bolt cracking. Furthermore, it had not adequately resourced the task in line with its own safety documentation, and had failed to put in place a process for transferring work between teams and ensuring safety critical information was recorded and communicated effectively.

Wood Transmission and Distribution Limited of Knutsford pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £240,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,142.

HSE Inspector Robert Gidman said: “This tragic incident could have been prevented had Wood Transmission and Distribution Limited put in place adequate arrangements to protect its workers from harm.

“Proper assessment of the risks and consideration of work methods, adequate staffing, and clear procedures for transferring towers between teams could have enabled this work to go ahead without incident.

“Instead, because of the company’s shortcomings, a worker has sadly and unnecessarily been left paralysed.”

Latest news

Go-ahead for City of London’s tallest tower

1 Undershaft building will equal the Shard in height
10 hours ago

Construction T Level scrapped due to lack of demand

Courses canned after less than 100 sign-up for latest round
1 day ago

Five firms clinch £300m Greenwich Uni framework deal

McLaren, Wates, Morgan Sindall, Vinci and Willmott Dixon secure places
16 hours ago

Hill Group strikes first Build to Rent deal

House builder agrees finance with Lloyds Living to start Stevenage scheme
16 hours ago

Construction output hit by fall in repair and maintenance

Industrial and commercial new work grows despite wider fall in activity
16 hours ago

Wates transfers pension scheme to “superfund”

Pension management specialist Clara to take charge of £210m fund
16 hours ago

Muse hires new development director for North West

Tom Darby joins from developer Bruntwood
16 hours ago

Bid rigging probe launched into school repair work

Firms raided this week with focus on roofing contracts
2 days ago

McLaren hires ex-ISG regional boss for north east expansion

Andrew Beaumont becomes MD of new Yorkshire and North East business
2 days ago

Government commits to four new prisons in seven years

£2.3bn pledged for new prison build programme
2 days ago

Road and rail delays hit revenue at Van Elle

Turnover drops 5% as markets remain challenging for piling specialist
2 days ago

Boot reports ‘noticeable improvement’ in planning system

Government planning reforms already unblocking council planning
2 days ago

Go-ahead to revamp former London city hall

Project will straighten the building's leaning profile with terraces to every level
2 days ago

United Living to divert Midlands gas pipeline

600m pipeline diversion clears way for M54 to M6 link road construction
2 days ago

Credit insurance saves Billington from ISG hit

Steel specialist puts on extra shifts at its plants to cope with demand
3 days ago

M&E specialist Dodd doubles profit on retrofit surge

Family-owned Telford specialist delivers record revenue of nearly £250m
3 days ago

Go-ahead for 800-home Croydon dual towers

One Lansdowne Road build to rent scheme to cost £260m to build
3 days ago

Construction inflation set to return raising tender prices

End of 2024 to mark the bottom of present inflationary trough
3 days ago

Start date for vast Balfour and Costain carbon capture power job

£4bn Teesside project to start construction next year creating 3,000 jobs
3 days ago

Plans go in to start revamp of North Finchley town centre

Developer Regal unveils first details of Barnet masterplan
3 days ago

Glencar bags £18m Big Yellow London store

Six-storey stoarage centre to be built at Staples Corner
3 days ago

Plan unveiled for 31-storey London Fenchurch Street tower

Demolition work to start in 2026 for new office tower
4 days ago

Vinci Building buys tower cranes for first time

Contractor invests in two WOLFFKRAN all-electric cranes at £138m Sheffield site
4 days ago

30 local firms land United Utilities £500m framework

Minor works deal win for North West civils and M&E specialists
4 days ago

Restructure pays off as Higgins returns to profit

Housing contractor recovers from £25.9m loss last year
4 days ago

Former Heathrow boss joins Mace in board rejig

Firm completes string NED appointments to expanded group board
4 days ago

Planning officers to get powers to bypass committee stage for housing

Rayner reform plan to cut out local council planning committees
4 days ago

National Insurance hike to delay construction recovery

Arcadis paints varied picture with full recovery delayed until 2026
5 days ago

Gratte Bros rides out cost rises with profit increase

M&E specialist warns of further upward pressure on wage costs
5 days ago

Sellar’s 36-storey London City office tower approved

Demolition work to start in 2026 at 60 Gracechurch Street site
7 days ago

Contractor services