Six die on construction sites in one week

Construction has seen six fatalities in less than a week - prompting the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to voice its concerns.

Three of the deaths occurred on Tuesday 29 April. At Churchfield Industrial Estate in Salisbury, Hampshire, a worker for Castleway Construction LTD received fatal head injuries after he was thrown from his vehicle - believed to be a dumper.

On the A13 between the junctions of Alfred's Way and King Edward Road in Barking an unnamed worker for contractor Danny Sullivan & Sons was killed when he was hit by a lorry on a live traffic lane.

Finally, a worker was killed during refurbishment work in Northwood, Middlesex. The unnamed man was hit by a falling chimney flue.

On 1 May a 28-year-old man working for a subcontractor on Contract 320 for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link at West Thurrock was killed.

The following day a worker, believed to be working for Wellwood Roofing Services, was crushed to death by an overturned forklift truck at a site in Shortstown, Bedfordshire.

And on Sunday a worker for an unnamed roofing contractor fell to his death on a site in Hertfordshire.

The HSE's chief inspector of construction Kevin Myers said: "What is clear is that the number of fatalities that have occurred should serve as a stark reminder of why everybody in the construction industry must further improve their performance in managing health and safety risks.

"Understandably fatalities from accidents are used as a barometer of health and safety performance but it is not possible to draw any conclusions from a single month's figures."