Harvey Tyrrell death: Electrician denies pub was a 'death trap'

Harvey Tyrrell died in September 2018 from electrocution

An electrician who installed lighting in a pub garden which electrocuted a seven-year-old boy did not see "evidence of danger", a court hears.

Harvey Tyrrell died from an electric shock after he touched a "defective" lighting fixture at the King Harold pub in Romford, on 11 September 2018.

A jury heard that electrician Colin Naylor, 74, worked at the pub in the months prior to Harvey's death.

He denies a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence.

David Bearman, the pub's owner and Mr Naylor's brother-in-law, has pleaded guilty to Harvey's manslaughter.

The court heard Mr Naylor, of Hockly Road, Rayleigh in Essex, worked on a range of electrical jobs at the pub between April and June 2018, including the garden lighting.

Colin Naylor, an electrician with 50 years experience, denies a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence

Prosecutor Duncan Penny QC highlighted to Mr Naylor that experts had been critical of the pub's electrics, with one describing it as "the most dangerous thing he's ever seen in 40 years."

The premises was "a death trap" and the fuse boards were a "dog's dinner", Mr Penny said.

Mr Naylor said: "I never saw any evidence of anything dangerous or badly done in that pub."

The defendant confirmed the lights for the pub garden had been taken from Mr Bearman's home garden after he sought to install new LED ones.

When his employment at the pub ended after getting a new job, Mr Naylor said not all of the garden lights had been connected to a complete circuit as construction work was ongoing.

He told the court that testing and certification of the lights should have been carried out, but this was "the responsibility of the pub manager or owner."

He denies a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence and a second charge of failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The trial continues.