A steeplejack fell 164ft to his death after the scaffolding on the chimney he was working on collapsed, a court has heard.
John Alty, 40, of Blackburn, Lancashire, was carrying out brickwork repairs at the top of a disused Edwardian chimney at Swan Lane Mills in Great Lever, Bolton, in June 2007 when the incident happened. A colleague who was left clinging for his life survived, but father-of-one Mr Alty was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Health and Safety Executive ruled that Mr Alty’s employer, Macclesfield-based Bailey International, had not used strong enough anchor fixings to attach the scaffolding to the chimney, despite knowing the brickwork at the top was in a poor condition. It also failed to check the scaffolding design and to test the fixings before they were used.
Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard the scaffolding had been damaged on a previous job and that Heywood-based Ken Brogden had been hired to repair it. But instead of grinding out the joints and welding them back together, the company welded over the weakened joints.
Bailey International Steeplejack Company Ltd was ordered to pay £75,000 and Ken Brogden Ltd was fined £10,000 for breaching health and safety laws.
Source: Claims Magazine
