York | Archive | 2006 | April | 7
From the archive, first published Friday 7th Apr 2006.
BOSSES at a power station where a worker plunged 70ft to his death have been ordered to pay almost £100,000.
Andrew Bason, 42, died when the staircase on which he was working at Eggborough Power Station came away from a landing and collapsed.
At York Crown Court Eggborough Power Limited was fined £33,000 for two breaches of safety laws, and ordered to pay £60,000 costs.
The court heard concerns had been raised about the safety of the staircase three months before the accident, but nothing had been done. It also heard there was corrosion on the plant's 40-year-old staircases, but no regular safety checks.
The tragedy happened on July 29, 2003, when Mr Bason, from the Doncaster area, was working on a stairway.
Prosecutor Simon Phillips said: "At a time when he was either ascending or descending the stairway, it became detached from the landing, with the result that Mr Bason fell 23 metres."
The stairway was meant to be fixed to a concrete landing by three metal prongs, but these had all come loose. When Mr Bason died 12 weeks later, the stair had still not been checked.
Kate Thirlwall QC, for the company, said it and its individual directors felt a "real sense of responsibility" for the incident. She said since the accident, the firm had revolutionised its safety systems.
Updated: 10:03 Friday, April 07, 2006
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