Bow crane collapse: Family angry over lack of answers three years on

June Harvey's body was found on the first floor of her home when the crane crashed down

The family of a woman who was killed when a crane collapsed on her house say they feel "let down" over the investigation.

June Harvey, 85, was found on the first floor of her home after the 65ft (20m) crane crashed down in Compton Close in Bow, east London, in July 2020.

Ms Harvey's family are also suing three companies over her death.

One of the firms said it was "fully committed to supporting the authorities' investigation".

Swan Housing Association added that "as the process is ongoing, we would not make any further comment at this stage".

The other two companies being sued for the collapse of the crane are Swan Commercial Services Limited and PGCS Partnership Limited.

The BBC approached both of the firms for comment.

Sam Atkinson said the crane collapse had "changed my life in such a horrible way"

Ms Harvey's niece, Jacqueline Atkinson, 66, and her son Sam Atkinson, 31, who was living in the house at the time of the collapse said they had suffered physical and psychiatric injuries.

Mr Atkinson has been suffering with post-traumatic dress disorder anxiety and has not been able to work since it happened.

He told the BBC: "It's changed my life in such a horrible way.

"It's extremely frustrating and disappointing, the lack of answers and communication, we feel very let down."

He added: "It's very difficult to move on, we both have sleepless nights and have been waking up with nightmares.

"We're being treated as perpetrators, but we're the victims, we've done absolutely nothing wrong."

The crane collapsed on Ms Harvey's house in July 2020

Lawyer Helen Clifford, who offers legal aid for inquests and who is handling the Atkinsons' case, said: "I accept that it is complex case but this is the first time that I have seen such significant delays and the impact on that is just enormous.

"It's a lot harder for people to recover from PTSD when they haven't got answers and this has made it much worse for them on every level."

HSE inspector Gordon Nixon said: "This has been a challenging and thorough investigation while good progress has been made, inquiries are ongoing.

"We understand this is still a difficult time for June's family as we approach the anniversary we remain committed to bringing this investigation to a conclusion as soon as possible."

The Met Police said the investigation was ongoing and it had nothing more to add.

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Since the collapse three years ago, Mr and Ms Atkinson have moved home several times.

They were first relocated to a hotel provided by their landlord until January 2021 before being placed into a property provided to them by Tower Hamlets Council, which they said was initially "uninhabitable" due to its lack of kitchen.

A kitchen was added and the pair continued to live at the property until March but said they had to move out due to the psychological impact of a crane being erected nearby.

Tower Hamlets Council said it had allocated two two-bedroom houses and one three-bedroom property for those affected by the crane collapse.

It added the condition of the properties would have been the responsibility of the housing association.

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