Council fined after sculpture falls onto boy's foot

Date:

13 December 2010

Release No:

SCO/208/10

East Lothian Council has been fined after a young boy was injured when a sculpture near a children's play area fell onto his foot.

The boy, who was aged five at the time, was playing football with his brother and friends on 30 January 2009 on Lammermuir Crescent, Haddington. At the time, the Nungate Wheel sculpture was sited close to the children's play park on Lammermuir Crescent. The Council had installed the sculpture at this site in June 2000.

While he was playing nearby, the 81 kilogram sculpture fell from its upright position on to the boy's right foot, causing multiple fractures. He was admitted to hospital overnight and his foot placed in plaster.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that there was no person or department within the Council that had overall responsibility for the inspection and maintenance of sculptures in the area. A specialist metallurgical report carried out as part of the investigation revealed that the sculpture was considerably weakened due to a fatigue fracture that had developed over a number of years and which was consistent with people swinging or rocking it.

At Haddington Sheriff Court today (13 December), East Lothian Council was fined £6000 after pleading guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to have a safe system of work in place to ensure the sculpture was routinely inspected and maintained.

Following the case, HSE inspector Lindsey Stein said:

"Had East Lothian Council carried out a simple risk assessment, they would have easily identified it was possible that children would climb and play on the Nungate Wheel, given that it was positioned only a few metres away from the play area.

"The injuries this young boy suffered were entirely preventable. If the council had appropriate systems in place to ensure structures installed on their property were done so to a suitable standard, and introduced regular inspections to check their stability, the damage to the Nungate Wheel would have been identified in time to repair it."

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. In Scotland the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has sole responsibility for the raising of criminal proceedings for breaches of health and safety legislation.
3. Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."

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