17/12/2009 - Contractor fined over worker death
The death of a builder's labourer, who drowned after being trapped head-down in a water-filled pit, has led a contractor to be fined £750, with £750 costs.
The labourer had been on his first day at work building a home extension in Wimbledon, outer London, for contractor Chris Byrne, of Christchurch Avenue in Brent, Westminster magistrates heard.
Mr Byrne removed a board covering a 1.74 metre excavation pit to show the labourer, who spoke little English, that it was filled with water, and then left him alone on the site.
When he returned, he found the labourer head first in the pit with water up to his waist. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
HSE Inspector, Monica Babb, said: "The labourer had little experience and was left alone with a excavation pit that wasn't properly guarded. His death was clearly avoidable as the risks of excavations and falling from height is well known."
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