Mitie electrician killed by cable marked 'not in use'

An electrician who was killed during the construction of a JJB Sports centre in Dundee had touched a cable marked 'not in use', a court has heard.

A jury at Dundee Sherriff Court heard the evidence as part of the trial of Mitie Engineering Services and three of its senior employees. They are accused of breaching health and safety regulations, following the death of Michael Adamson, 26, from Bo'ness in 2005.

They deny the charges, which include: failing to provide a safe system of working, training, supervision, risk assessment and resources; failing to test circuits and wires into a distribution board before they were made live; and failing to ensure the board was not live while employees worked on circuits connected to it.

The BBC reported that managing director William Mitchell, operations director Scott Wallace and technical services manager Ian Storrar denied the alleged offence was committed with their consent or connivance, or was attributable to their neglect.

A former colleague of Adamson, electrician James Kelly, said they had been pulling cables across a false ceiling at the site when the accident happened.

He had been holding a ladder to support Adamson when he saw him touch a wire.

Kelly shouted to Adamson but could not be sure if Adamson heard him, as the speaker system in the building was being tested at the time.

He then saw the ceiling move up by about six inches as Adamson was electrocuted.

Kelly also told the court that the cable they were working on was marked 'not in use' and they would not have expected it to be live.