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December 14, 2010

Energy firm fined £130k for power-line fatality

A member of the public was killed by a swinging power line as he tried to warn motorists to avoid running over the cable after it fell on to a busy road.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that an overhead power cable had sagged to 2.5 metres above the A49 in Prees, Shropshire following high winds. The cable was attached between a landing pole in the middle of the road and a farm house. It had been connected to the house by a wooden block and started to detach from the block in the wind.

Simon Lines, 20, was travelling down the A49 with his father when he noticed that the 230-volt power line was sagging into the road. He parked his vehicle and rushed to warn oncoming motorists about the danger. As he stood on the side of the road, a passing van struck the cable and caused it to fall in the road. A car then drove over the cable, causing it to fly up in the air and hit Mr Lines in the face. He suffered serious burns and died in hospital eight days later as a result of injuries sustained from being struck by the cable, rather than by an electric shock.

HSE inspector, John Steed, revealed that the wooden block was 30 years old and found to be partially rotten, which led to the cable becoming detached during the strong winds. He said: “The failure to maintain the wooden block led to the cable anchors detaching from the building, and set in motion a chain of events with a tragic outcome. While some of the links in that chain of events could not have been prevented, what could have been prevented was the securing of the cable to the building by energy provider Scottish Power in what turned out to be an inadequate way.

“The fact they have now replaced wooden blocks with more effective metal brackets means the chances of something like this happening again will be reduced. But overhead power lines can be dangerous and need to be treated with caution, especially if they appear to be damaged.”

Scottish Power UK plc appeared in court on 13 December and pleaded guilty to breaching reg. 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. It was fined £130,000 and ordered to pay £48,000 in costs.

In mitigation, the firm said it has installed a landing pole next to the house to shorten the distance that the cables travel to reach the building. It claimed that the method of attaching the wires to the house was not a “standard” means of connection and has subsequently identified a number of other buildings with similar connections across the country. At each of these buildings it has carried out maintenance to install suitable metal brackets.

The company has also trained its linesmen to recognise non-standard connections and has upgraded data-collection devices to help identify additional locations where these connections may still exist.

Following the hearing, a spokesman from Scottish Power said: “The circumstances that led to this tragic incident were unforeseeable and our thoughts are with Mr Lines’ family.”

Inspector Steed remarked that Mr Lines’ family could be proud that he was trying to help others at the time of his death. He said: “Mr Lines was trying to make sure others weren’t injured and, in doing so, received injuries so severe they killed him. Those who knew him may take small comfort from the fact that he died while acting in such an honourable way, but the fact that it could have been prevented makes the death of such a young man even more tragic.”

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