Deaths in 2006

Deaths in 2007

Deaths in 2006

Click on the names below for further case details

Back to Top

Deaths in 2007

Click on the names below for further case details

Back to Top

FURTHER DETAILS OF DEATHS

Ashley suffered multiple head injuries when he fell 25 feet after going to retrieve a football during a lunchtime kick-about at Cartwright Haulage and Trailers, in Broadheath, Altrincham.

He was taken to Wythenshawe Infirmary and then transferred to Hope Hospital in Salford where he died.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Peter was working on the windows of a home in Leigh when he fell 20 feet to his death from a ladder. He fell head first on to a concrete patio and, despite the efforts of staff at Salford's Hope Hospital, died the next day from extensive head injuries.

The inquest was held at Manchester Coroner’s Court on 16 May 2007 when a verdict of 'Accidental Death' was returned.

The court heard that Peter's father, his uncle John Riley and two other young men turned up at Kenneth Stokes' semi-detached house in Angus Avenue, Leigh, to replace the fascias with uPVC.

In a statement Mr Riley said Peter had been putting up fascias at the back of the property and was using his own ladders, which the teenager had previously bought at a car boot sale.

Mr Stokes was sunbathing in his back garden while he watched the men work. He told the inquest how Peter was up the ladder and over-reaching sideways to try to knock in a nail when the ladder slipped and the teenager fell to the ground.

A post mortem examination revealed Peter suffered several skull fractures and massive brain damage.

Health and safety inspector Ian Evans told the inquest, 'The state of the ladders was key in the accident.' He added that at least one of the rungs of the metal ladder was missing and the remainder were dented. The rubber feet which should have been on the foot of the ladder were missing and no one had been holding the ladder to stabilise it while Peter climbed.

Speaking after the inquest Mr Evans stated that the biggest cause of workplace deaths is falling from height and warned people to check the condition of their ladders before use. 'This was the worst case I have ever seen,' he said. 'Every single rung was damaged.'

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

David, a chartered quantity surveyor, died instantly when he fell 20ft through a covered trap door and landed on the stone floor at Holy Trinity Church, in Trinity Street, Bolton. David was in the church with another surveyor, from builders G & J Seddon.

David, who was the head of a Preston-based firm, had been asked to carry out a cost study of the Grade II listed building for G & J Seddon, which was planning to convert it into apartments.

He sustained fatal head injuries when he fell through the trap door in the first floor of the church bell tower.

The inquest was held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court in Bolton on 11 May 2007. The jury returned a verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

The hearing was told it was not known who covered the trap door but that people had been sleeping rough there.

Charles Cottle, a health and safety inspector, said after the inquest: "We need to highlight that there is a proper risk assessment process. As we have seen in this tragic case, just being careful isn't always enough."

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Mark, a window cleaner, drowned in his bucket of water after suddenly collapsing while he worked,

The inquest was held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court in Bolton on 17 May 2007. The jury heard that a heart condition caused the collapse but the cause of death was drowning because Mark had been unable to save himself. The jury returned a unanimous verdict of 'Accidental Death'.

The inquest also heard that the window cleaner had complained about heart palpitations earlier in the year but had not told his doctor.

Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson told the jury he had been informed that Mr Fairhurst had been assaulted in August 2005 which had led to memory problems.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Anthony fell between 20 and 25 feet from a scaffolding tower while dismantling it at 27-29 Central Road Withington.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Mark died after being was crushed in a compressor, a machine used to bale clothing, at WH Tracey textile recyclers.

It is understood the machine's hydraulic system broke away and crashed down. Officer Rick Warburton, from Bury Fire Station, said, 'Mr Clegg was trapped by the machine. The action of freeing him took about five minutes. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.'

The inquest is to be held at Manchester North Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Stephanie, a lollipop lady, was patrolling outside Seedley County Primary School in Liverpool Street, Salford, when a bus mounted the pavement and struck her.

Inside the school her daughter was preparing to finish for the day. Stephanie had been working as a lollipop lady at the school for nine months and was also a volunteer play leader in the community.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Police said the bus was being examined for possible defects. The single decker Arriva bus, the M10 Brookhouse to Manchester service, was carrying passengers. Police said it mounted the pavement and struck Stephanie. She was trapped under the wheels and died at the scene.

The driver was treated in hospital for shock and minor injuries.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Peter, who worked for the agency ISS Mediclean, is believed to have suffered a broken neck when the lid of a cardboard compacting machine fell on him on as he leaned into it. Police and firefighters were called to the hospital following reports that Peter had become trapped in the industrial compactor. He was freed, but died later.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Martin Pilling

Martin, a sign writer, was in the basket of a cherry picker when it was hit by a UK North bus on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme. He fell in front of the double decker bus and died at the scene.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

The UK North depot was examined three days after the incident and concerns were raised over the safety of the vehicles and the amount of training the drivers had received. This led to a public hearing in December 2006 where North West traffic commissioner Beverley Bell expressed concern over the safety of the firm's Polish drivers.

The hearing was told that 100 of the 130 drivers at UK North were Polish and that many had a poor understanding of English. During the hearing Ms Bell, an independent regulator for the passenger transport industry, claimed she was not convinced the drivers had been properly trained. She made the ruling after spending time weighing up the evidence. The bus companies were allowed to appeal her decision.

In January 2007 UK North and GM Buses, which share the same owner, were ordered to stop operating permanently. Both firms had their licences revoked for financial reasons and UK North has gone into administration. Investigations by the Traffic Commissioner into the safety of buses and driver training are ongoing.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

John Cookson

John Cookson died after being struck by a large concrete sewer pipe on a new housing estate in Highfield on Tuesday. It is believed a chain snapped as it was being swung into position, causing the pipe to strike John as he stood in a 12ft deep trench. He died instantly.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Pat Moroney

While working in a trench at Trafford Shopping Centre, Pat was struck by the bucket of a digger when it became detached and fell off.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester South Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Alphonsus 'Frank' Healy

Alphonsus, a foreman on a sewage works in Athens Way, Leigh, Oldham, fell from a forklift truck and hit his head. He died over four months later in hospital.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester North Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

Ian Gutteridge

Ian, who had been carrying out work on a statue, die after he fell 30ft from a hydraulic platform in Manchester city centre. Ian and a colleague fell from the basket of the cherry-picker.

Both were taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary. The second man, who suffered a head injury, was subsequently discharged.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester Coroner’s Court. No date has yet been set.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)

Back to Top

John Alty

John, a steeplejack, died after falling 300ft from a disused chimney. Two of John's colleagues saw the fall from the top of the huge stack at Swan Lane Mills in Great Lever.

John was pronounced dead at the scene having suffered severe and traumatic multiple injuries.

John and his colleagues were working on a maintenance project. One man was helping the steeplejack to dismantle scaffolding around the top of the structure, the other was working at ground level.

The inquest is to be held at Manchester West Coroner’s Court.

Back to Table (2006)

Back to Table (2007)