A construction company and its director have been fined after a five-year-old child was injured by a falling cast-iron pipe.
The incident happened on 20 July 2021 when Sage Homes Ltd was carrying out work on an extension to a house in Totton, near a local primary school.
A cast-iron pipe fell onto a passing child, striking him on the head and fracturing his skull.
The base of the pipe had been broken away by the builder some days before to allow him to excavate into the concrete floor.
When a TV cable was freed from the pipe, the top two sections of pipe, weighing over 45kg, fell across the pavement. The pipe was estimated to date from the 1930s, and both it and the fixings were corroded.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Sage Homes Ltd and Scorey had failed to properly assess what was a foreseeable risk.
In giving evidence, Scorey insisted that he could see no need to secure the pipe against the wall.
‘Simple and inexpensive task’
Sage Homes Ltd and Jason Scorey were sentenced for breaches of Section 3(1) and Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, respectively, at Southampton Crown Court on 4 August 2025.
Scorey received a fine of £1,685, with 45 days’ imprisonment in default, and was ordered to pay costs of £10,436.
Sage Homes Ltd, which is in the process of being dissolved, was fined £15,000. Both Scorey and Sage Homes Ltd were also ordered to pay a victim surcharge.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Alexander Ashen said: “Properly assessing risk to workers and members of the public is a vital part of any construction project.
“It would have been a simple and inexpensive task to secure the pipe once it had been broken out at its base. The fact that the construction work was being carried out yards from a school gate at the time parents were collecting their children should have prompted even more care on the part of the duty holder.”
