Companies fined after 44-tonne machine crashes onto Hull road

Date:

5 August 2010

Release No:

YH/199/10

Two construction companies were today prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a 44 tonne machine crashed onto a busy main road in Hull.

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering Ltd and Multibuild Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws at Hull Crown Court.

The court heard that a piling machine, used to drive building supports into the ground, fell over and rolled across the road before crushing a wall opposite during the evening rush hour on 10 December 2007. Tower Street was closed for several hours until it was made safe.

An HSE investigation found that the main contractor, Multibuild Ltd, was responsible for providing a stone platform for the machine to work from, but had failed to design or install it correctly.

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering Ltd as a specialist sub-contractor had the responsibility for safely carrying out the work.

After the hearing HSE Inspector Dave Redman commented:

"This incident could easily have resulted in disaster, and it is nothing short of a miracle that no one was killed or seriously injured given it occurred during the peak of the evening rush hour.

"It is every company's responsibility to ensure that employees and members of the public are not exposed to danger from heavy construction machinery.

"There is extensive guidance governing safe working in this sector, and we hope today's prosecution serves to remind people of their duties so that we don't witness an incident of this kind again."

Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering Ltd, previously known as Stent Foundations Ltd, of Ashwood Way, Basingstoke, Hampshire, and Multibuild Ltd, of Pepper Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport, breached section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in connection to the incident.

Balfour Beatty was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £17,676 in costs. Multibuild Ltd was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £18,687 costs.

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. 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."
3. Further HSE information and news releases can be found online www.hse.gov.uk

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