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The following article appeared in the Yorkshire Evening Post on
17 October, 1998.
Dad who paid heavy price for DIY tragedy
£7,500 fine after son loses his leg in trench horror
A father's large scale DIY building project which ended with his son losing
his leg was "an accident waiting to happen", a court was told.
Teenager Jed Christie had been helping to dig a sewer on land in Yeadon,
Leeds, owned by his father, Lance, in May when the sides of the trench caved
in, Pudsey magistrates were told.
Jed, 18, who had been digging the trench along with another man, was trapped
for 12 hours. He remained conscious throughout the ordeal.
The teenager was eventually rescued by firefighters and parametics and taken
to hospital but his left leg had to be amputated to save his life.
His 42-year-old father, of Quakers Lane, Rawdon, Leeds, was fined a total
of £7,500 after pleading guilty to three breaches of Health and Safety
rules.
David Robins, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, told
the court that the work was being done on a site that Christie had bought for
£200,000 in order to begin development of an industrial estate.
Christie, whose company, Weavabel, makes clothing labels, was hoping to expand
his business interest on the site.
Instead of appointing an official contractor he approached family friend Philip
Beaumont to work on the preparatory site to work alongside Jed.
The court heard that Mr. Beaumont had had limited experience of drainage work.
Despite advice from consultants who said a supervisor was needed, Christie went
ahead with the preparatory work.
Mr. Robins said: "This trench in its unsupported state was an accident waiting
to happen.
"It was clearly calling for careful planning and the observance of the strictest
safety measures.
"Mr. Beaumont said he thought the trench was safe. Jed told me that on the
afternoon there was a need to get the trench safe because children were around
the area.
"For Jed it was a horrible experience. This was a DIY job on a grand scale --
a job that went wrong.
"This should act as a warning to others.
"The defendant is a scarred man. He and his wife stood during the 12 hours not
knowing whether their son would come out alive. He has paid a price, a heavy price."
For his failure to appoint a contractor, Christie was fined £3,500. He had
breached regulations which required the company to take practical steps to ensure the
safety of his employees, which was punished by a £2,000 fine.
For failing to appoint a planning supervisor he was also fined £2,000. In
addition, Christie was ordered to pay costs of £350.
Malcolm Hacking, defending, said: "It was always Mr. Christie's intention to have
the commercial works undertaken by a genuine contractor.
"What we are talking about here is the preparatory works.
"He had for some time been looking for some land to expand his business. He is a
sensitive, honest and hard-working family man.
"He began the work with a well-intentioned early start. The accident itself was a
cataclysmic incident.
"Mr. Christie himself did not believe he was deliberately ignoring or flouting
the rules.
"He had no reason to believe that what was being done was not being done
reasonably.
"On that afternoon they had made a decision to carry on with the work. They
thought they would get away with it but obviously they didn't.
"The family find no place in their hearts to blame or accuse each other. I do
not believe you are looking at a big commercial operation.
"You are dealing with a case of misplaced trust and ignorance. You can't be
harder than Mr. Christie has been on himself.
See Rescuers Free Man Trapped in Ditch Ordeal
for the rest of the story. Apparently, by the time this matter came to court, the
nature of the construction was no longer a new meeting room.
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