A groundworks firm has admitted safety failings that led to two workers being crushed to death by the collapsing sandstone wall of a 200-year-old former milking byre.
A court heard that the nine-foot-six high sandstone wall had been left free-standing after the demolition of the byre, at Myrehead Farm near Linlithgow, West Lothian, some years earlier. Stirling Sheriff Court heard on Tuesday that local contractors Fernbrooke Scotland had been brought in to underpin the wall by installing steel cages filled with stones and concrete at its base.
Victims Peter Walker, 53, from Blackburn, West Lothian, and 48-year-old James Henderson, known as Paul, from Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, were working using picks and shovels to create a trench for the cages to sit in when the wall “suddenly split in the middle horizontally”, causing 50 tonnes of sandstone blocks, rubble and lime mortar to fall on top of them.
Mr Henderson, a father-of-one, and Mr Walker, a father of three, were killed instantly. The court heard that a heat detection device had to be used to locate Mr Walker, who had suffered a catastrophic brain injury incompatible with life. Mr Henderson was declared dead at the scene, from crush injuries, despite the efforts of paramedics.
Two other men David McNeil, then 36, Charles Johnstone, then 21, were severely injured. Mr McNeil spent 10 days in hospital with injuries including a fractured spine, still has mobility issues, and hasn’t worked since. Mr Johnstone, a student working during his summer holidays, took 14 months to recover from injuries including a broken leg, facial scarring, and several fractured ribs.
Prosecutor Catherine Fraser said investigations by a Health and Safety Executive inspector found that there had been no evidence that temporary supports or shoring had been used, and the underpinning had been done in an unsafe manner which undermined the wall and contributed to its collapse.
No proper consulting engineer was supervising the process. Fernbrooke Scotland LLP, of Blackburn, West Lothian, run by Kevin Dolan, of Avonbridge, Falkirk, pleaded guilty to failed to ensure the safety of the men. The company admitted omitting to check the condition of the wall, and in particular its foundations, prior to starting the work. The incident occurred at 10am on May 6, 2019.
The work was part of a project to convert a former farmsteading for a housing development. Peter Gray KC, defending, said Fernbrooke had settled all civil claims relating to the tragedy, and took its responsibilities “very seriously”.
He said the incident was “a matter of the greatest concern and genuine regret” and he offered the firm’s deepest sympathies to the men’s families. He said Fernbrooke had now stopped undertaking any similar type of work.
Sheriff Keith O’Mahony deferred sentence until January 31 to consider the penalty the firm should face. At the time of the tragedy, Mr Walker’s daughter Rachel paid tribute to him on social media ad described him as the “love of my life”. A family friend, Linda Gillespie, said: “He was a gentle man and such a character, he’ll be missed by many.”
The farm was reported to have been for sale at the time as a development opportunity with an asking price of nearly £900,000.
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