Staff errors caused fatal crane collapse - inquest

Rhys Barker, David Newall and David Webb died following the crane collapsed in 2017

Staff errors caused the collapse of a crane which killed three men eight years ago, an inquest has found.

Rhys Barker, 18, David Newall, 36, and David Webb, 43, died after the incident at a building site in Crewe, Cheshire, on 21 June 2017.

A coroner concluded their deaths were an accident and the collapse was caused by a "series of errors" made by employees at Falcon Tower Crane Services Ltd.

The firm, which was acquitted last year after being charged with health and safety breaches, said it had co-operated fully with all authorities and its thoughts remained with the families.

The three men were working as part of a team to erect the Potain MC85B tower crane at a building site on Dunwoody Way when it tilted and fell.

It collapsed onto two homes adjacent to the site but none of the occupants were injured.

Mr Barker, from Castleford, West Yorkshire, suffered fatal crush injuries to his chest while Mr Newell, from Bradford, sustained head and chest injuries and also died at the scene.

Mr Webb, from St Neots, Cambridgeshire, sustained multiple injuries and died in hospital from sepsis and multi-organ failure on 25 July 2017.

Rhys Barker died at the scene of the collapse on 21 June 2017

'Overbalancing of the crane'

In her conclusion at Cheshire Coroner's Court on Wednesday, senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish said there were mistakes made in preparing documents outlining how the crane should be set up.

She wrote in her record of inquest: "The cause of the crane collapse was due to a series of errors by Falcon Crane Services Ltd staff members with responsibilities for drafting the method statement and associated documents, which contained an incorrect sequence of works by omitting the crucial requirement for partial ballasts."

Ms Devonish said the error was not identified and the supervisor "compounded this when he did not correctly follow the build plan and sequence for the work".

This culminated in the overbalancing of the crane, she said, without the "crucial partial ballasts". The ballasts increase stability.

"The change in process caused the jib to slew in the opposite direction to that planned, therefore endangering the local community when the crane fell onto two residential homes outside the site," Ms Devonish added.

She gave a conclusion of accidental death "contributed to by a chain of errors in producing the method statement and absence of partial ballast".

David Webb died in hospital more than a month after the incident

Following the inquest's conclusion, a spokesperson for Falcon Cranes said it had been "deeply affected" by the incident and had done all it can to provide support to the families.

They said the firm had co-operated fully with all authorities "throughout long and detailed investigations".

"We hope this process and the conclusion reached by the coroner following long and detailed investigations will assist the families and all others concerned to achieve a degree of closure in relation to the deaths," the spokesperson added.

"Our thoughts remain with the families and all others who have suffered as a consequence of this tragic accident."

In November 2024, Falcon Tower Cranes Services was acquitted of two health and safety breaches after a judge directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts, due to insufficient evidence.