A contractor has been fined £160,000 after a worker was fatally electrocuted while operating a lorry mounted crane.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how on 17 May 2016, ASL Access Scaffold Limited employee Martin Tilby was fatally electrocuted when the crane he was operating struck an overhead power line while he was unloading materials in a field at Cowbridge, South Glamorgan.

An HSE investigation found that no risk assessment had been carried out in the field where the incident happened, and no control measures were put in place to prevent contact with the overhead powerlines.

ASL Access Scaffold Limited of Bridgend was found guilty of breaching safety regulations was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £45,000.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Damian Corbett said: “This death was easily preventable, and the risk should have been identified. Employers should make sure they properly assess and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from striking overhead powerlines.

“This death would have been preventable had an effective system for managing unloading materials been in place.”

Companies House records show ASL Access Scaffold Limited entered a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in February 2017.

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Sandwell NHS trust bosses has revealed that the Midland Metropolitan Hospital is set to miss its 2022 opening.

Carillion replacement builder Balfour Beatty kept the project going through the pandemic, but has recently been hit be supply delays, workforce shortages and unexpected facade replacement works.

Sandwell and West Birmingham-Hospitals NHS Trust said the hospital project which has been dogged by delays since Carillion’s collapse is now likely to open in 2023, five years later than planned when the PPP contract was signed with Carillion.

Over the next two months the Trust said it would be working with expert advisors in the National New

Hospitals Programme team and Balfour Beatty to confirm a firm 2023 opening date that patients, staff and partner organisations could have confidence in.

Chief executive Richard Beeken said: “The new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital construction programme has progressed well during the pandemic, however, there have inevitably been some significant impacts over the past 18 months relating to supplies, workforce availability and replacement of part of the external facade due to changed fire regulations.

“Over the next two months we will continue to work closely with Balfour Beatty to review the work programme, with independent expert assessment, so that we can announce a 2023 opening date before the end of the year.”

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