On the fifth anniversary of a tragic demolition accident, we share a poignant letter from Magi, sister of John Mackay, who was killed alongside Tommy Williams. The letter highlights the lack of support and compassion from Nationwide Platforms post-tragedy, along with frustrations with the police and judicial processes. Despite some updates from the HSE, the…Read moreRead more
Accident
A family’s struggle for justice
Great Yarmouth – Answers at last
Waste giant Veolia has been fined three million pounds after a man died and another was seriously injured while decommissioning a North Sea gas rig back in 2019. Stephen Picken and Mark Kumar were working at an onshore facility in Great Yarmouth. Both men were working as demolition operatives, undertaking the decommissioning and dismantlement of…Read moreRead more
3,000 days
On 23 February 2016, the boiler house at the Didcot A Power Station collapsed prematurely during a delicate demolition process. The unplanned collapse cost the lives of four men. That incident happened in an instant. Those four lives were cut tragically short in the blink of an eye. In a matter of seconds, the potential…Read moreRead more
Lucky to be alive
A demolition operative is ‘lucky to be alive’ after part of a Victorian building fell on him during demolition work in Kilburn, North West London. MAC Demolition Ltd, the Middlesex firm contracted to carry out the works, has been fined £60,000 after Tommy Brooks was left with life changing injuries. The 57-year-old had been employed…Read moreRead more
Redcar remembered
Four years ago today, John Mackay and Tommy Williams went to work on a demolition project at the #teesworks facility in Redcar. Both men perished in horrific circumstances. In this important and moving video from film-maker Matt Milloy, we hear from John’s sister and his widow who are each still waiting for answers.
The Break Fast Show #581
In today’s show: The human cost of site fatalities – We have an exclusive interview with the widow and the sister of one of the men killed four years ago today in a demolition accident at the Teesworks facility in Redcar. Wacker Neuson’s latest Dual View dumper; and it’s a grey day for a JCB…Read moreRead more
No manslaughter charges over Redcar double death
On 19 September 2019, a pair of workers were killed in horrific circumstances at the Teesworks site in Redcar. Almost exactly four years later, the Health and Safety Executive has announced that there will be no gross or corporate manslaughter charges against the companies and individuals involved. The Health and Safety Exective statement reads: “The…Read moreRead more
Cyclist killed outside Keltbray site
A young cyclist has been killed in a collision with a construction lorry outside a Keltbray site in London. The victim, described as a young adult in their early 20s, was reportedly riding an e-bike when the accident occurred. The collision took place on Tottenham Court Road as the tipper truck was exiting the Network…Read moreRead more
Firm fined over worker fall
A building company has been fined after a demolition worker suffered serious injuries after falling from a platform in Kensington in London. Ovidiu Dobra was working for Henry Construction Projects Limited at a building site on Kensington High Street when the incident happened on 2 March 2021. Dobra was working on the ten-foot high platform…Read moreRead more
Directors jailed over scrap wall collapse
Two company directors have been sentenced to nine months in jail following a tragic incident at a scrap metal recycling plant in Birmingham that resulted in the deaths of five workers. It took almost seven years to deliver justice. Seven and a half years on, the families of the four men killed at the Didcot…Read moreRead more
