Nottingham construction firm fined after worker killed by falling concrete blocks

A Nottingham construction company has been fined £300,000 after a kitchen fitter was killed by falling concrete blocks at a housing site in the Cotswolds.

Martin Dunford, 33, died on 23 January 2020 while working at Ebrington Rise, a residential development in Chipping Campden.

Originally from Yorkshire, Dunford was pinned against a lorry loader when two stacks of concrete blocks, one placed on top of the other and supported by a wooden pallet, toppled over.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Piper Homes Construction, the site’s principal contractor, had failed to provide a safe and level area for material offloading.

According to Companies House, Piper Homes Construction is now in liquidation.

The company also failed to ensure that only suitable pallets were used and that people were kept away from delivery zones.

Dunford was talking to a driver on site when the stacks of blocks suddenly collapsed, crushing him and causing fatal internal and head injuries.

Piper Homes Construction pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law and was sentenced at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on 29 April.

The company was also ordered to pay over £5,000 in costs.

HSE inspector James Lucas said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident and our thoughts remain with Martin’s family. Storage of construction materials should be properly planned and managed, to ensure that if materials are stored at height, the necessary measures are in place to prevent them from falling and potentially injuring persons.

“Storage areas should be level and accessories such as wooden pallets should be regularly inspected to ensure that they are in suitable condition to be used to store materials. Had this been done on this particular site, Martin would have returned home safely to his family.”