Firms fined £30,000 after worker fell from unguarded scaffolding
Two firms have been fined more than £30,000 after a labourer suffered multiple injuries in a fall from unguarded scaffolding.
56-year-old Stephen Keegan from Frome in Somerset was a temporary employee of Julian Chard Carpentry Ltd.
The company was sub-contracted by C J Deighton & Co Ltd to build timber frames for properties in Trowbridge, Wiltshire last March.
A court heard that Mr Keegan fell two metres from an unguarded section of scaffolding.He suffered a fractured knee and wrist, broken collarbone, perforated ear drum.
Both were found guilty of breaching construction regulations. Julian Chard Carpentry was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £3,121 in costs. C J Deighton & Co was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £3,122 in costs.
CJ Deighton has gone in liquidation and Julian Chard Carpentry has now ceased trading.
This was a serious incident which could easily have been prevented. Mr Keegan has undergone several operations since his fall and is unlikely to get full mobility in his shoulder, knee or wrist. This was only a temporary job for Mr Keegan and, as a self-employed painter and decorator, his injuries meant that he could not work at all for six months and they will severely hamper his future ability to work.
– Helena Tinton, Health and Safety Executive inspector
It doesn't spring to mind as the most salubrious of places for an artist to display their work, but an old toilet block in Somerset is having an overhaul and being turned into a public art gallery.
The building in Frome was beginning to look rather rundown, so some locals have set about giving the building a new lease of life.
She promised a more open and accessible police force. Today in Frome, the Police and Crime Commissioner in Avon and Somerset began to make that promise come true.
Sue Mountstevens and her new Chief Constable, Nick Gargan, attended their first public forum to answer questions. Among the many questions asked - why were there fewer police on the streets? and why was Frome police station up for sale?
Our Somerset correspondent David Woodland reports:
Concern over sale of Frome police station building
Sign outside the building housing Frome police station Credit: ITV West
People living in Frome are concerned that their police station may be about to close because the building it's housed in is up for sale. Local councillors are worried policing in the town may change if it's forced to move elsewhere.
It comes as the Police & Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable visit the town to take part in their first public forum event in the Avon and Somerset force area.
A motorcycle passenger has died following after an accident near Frome yesterday.
It happened at Buckland Dinham at around 5pm. A Suzuki motorbike was heading west away from Frome when it was involved in a collision with an Audi TT. A pillion passenger from the motorcycle, a woman in her 30s, was taken to hospital but died of her injuries this morning.
The road was closed for around five hours while the emergency services dealt with the incident and began an investigation into the collision.
David Trebble, missing since 23rd November Credit: Avon and Somerset Police
Concern is growing for 52 year old David Trebble who hasn't been seen for over 9 weeks. Mr Trebble is from Burnham-on-sea but was last seen in Frome. He is described as 5ft 9ins tall with his two front teeth missing.
45-year-old Clinton Martin Credit: Avon & Somerset Police
A convicted drug dealer from Somerset has been ordered to hand over more than £30,000.
Clinton Martin from Frome, was ordered to pay £32,370 at a confiscation hearing meeting at Bristol Crown Court.
He was given six months to pay the order and was told that if it was not paid at the end of the term, then he would have to serve a further six weeks imprisonment and would still owe the money afterwards.
There were traffic tailbacks for several miles around Frome today as almost 20 thousand people turned out for the town's annual Cheese and agricultural show. Apart from the world's most expensive cheeseboard, there was the odd celebrity surprise, as Dave Mason discovered.
