A construction company has been fined £1 million after a road resurfacing project ended in tragedy in May 2022.
Robert Morris, who was working on the project in Haringey, north London, was struck and killed by a reversing road-sweeper.
Marlborough Highways Ltd, Morris’ employer, was handed the fine earlier this month following a joint investigation between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Metropolitan Police, which identified a number of failings at the site.
HSE said there was no segregation between people and moving vehicles and a banksman was not used when the road sweeper, driven by a colleague, reversed and struck Morris.
The investigation found that traffic management systems at the site were inadequate and unsafe, placing employees and members of the public at risk of serious injury and death.
Marlborough Highways pleaded guilty to Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was handed the £1 million fine at City of London Magistrates’ Court, with associated costs amounting to £6,028.
Driving offence
The Metropolitan Police submitted evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service leading to a separate prosecution, which resulted in the driver of the vehicle being given a suspended prison sentence.
Jamie Smith, also an employee of Marlborough Highways, was prosecuted for an offence of causing death by careless driving contrary to section 2B of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
He pleaded guilty and in February 2024 he was sentenced to a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. He was also disqualified from driving for one year.
James Goldfinch, HSE principal inspector, said: “Our thoughts are with Robert’s family, described by his widow as ‘the centre of our world’. She says his children are ‘sad and angry and cheated of so much of their future’.
“Robert was entitled to return home safely from work to his family but the lack of segregation of vehicles and pedestrians by Marlborough Highways Ltd meant he did not.
“This was a case where appropriate controls had been identified but were not being implemented on site.”
HSE guidance on the importance of safety on site and the segregation of people and vehicles is available here.
