Two firms fined £140,000 after fatal cradle death

Two firms have been fined a total of £140,000 after an access cradle accident left one man dead and three others seriously injured.

Painter Tony Bottomley was killed and Peter Wilson, Dale Howard and Anthony Glossop were all seriously injured when the cradle plunged 10m from the side of St James office building in Campo Lane, Sheffield, in 2003.

A rusty bracket was later found to have caused the accident.

All four men were employees of Bradway Construction, of Meersbrook, Sheffield, which was contracted to perform painting and maintenance work on the building.

Apollo Cradles of Carlton, Barnsley, which hired out the cradle to Bradway Construction, was fined £115,000 after being found guilty of breaches of health and safety law.

Meanwhile Bradway Construction was fined £25,000 after it had earlier pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law at Sheffield Crown Court.

HSE principal inspector Dave Redman said: "This was a tragic case involving four men who had never worked in a suspended access cradle before. The incident could have been avoided if Apollo Cradles ensured the equipment it was providing was safe and fit for use."