Company fined £22k after wall collapse leads to child's toe loss

Gurmit Properties Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act

A construction company responsible for an unsafe wall that collapsed and led to the loss of an eight-year-old girl's toe has been fined £22,500.

Gurmit Properties Limited (GPL) had stored a large delivery of aggregate against the wall on a site at Barnsley Road in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire.

The girl was hit by the collapsing wall as she walked past with her mother.

GPL Properties was fined at Leeds Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after admitting health and safety breaches.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the building material had originally been stored on land next to the construction site until council officials ordered its removal.

GPL brought the aggregate on to their site and put it against the wall, leading directly to the collapse on 7 February 2018, the HSE said.

The girl sustained serious injuries which required the amputation of her big toe.

An investigation found the company had not assessed the structural integrity of the wall for use as either a boundary or as a retaining wall for storing materials.

'Avoidable'

GPL of Albion Street, Castleford, West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.

The company was fined £22,500 and ordered to pay almost £12,000 in costs.

HSE inspector Chris Tilley said the collapse could have been avoided by carrying out correct control measures and adopting safe working practices such as appointing someone to assess the wall's safety.

GPL has been contacted for a comment.