A property management company and its managing director have been handed sentences after a teenage apprentice was killed at a student accommodation renovation site in north Wales — a death the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says was entirely preventable.
Varcity Living Ltd was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay more than £10,000 in costs following a hearing this week. The company’s director, 45-year-old David Horrocks, received a 26-week suspended prison sentence and was ordered to pay approximately £7,886 in costs.
Fatal collapse of unsecured plasterboards
Chloe Bidwell, an 18-year-old apprentice joiner, died on December 20, 2023, when a stack of unsecured plasterboards fell on her at the Bangor, Gwynedd site. She was working alone at the time.
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The HSE investigation found that site management was chaotic, with systemic failures in safety protocols. There was no safe storage system for the heavy boards, no policy covering lone working for apprentices, inadequate supervision, and a lack of proper risk assessments.
The presiding judge noted that the lack of oversight represented a significant failure by the company and its leadership to protect a vulnerable young worker.
Bidwell had been recognised for her technical skills before the incident, having won a gold medal in the Skills Competition Wales.
Wider pattern of workplace safety failures
The sentencing in the Bangor case coincides with several other workplace safety rulings across the UK and Ireland this week.
In Scotland, Food Process Engineering Ltd was fined £50,000 plus a £3,750 surcharge following the death of 32-year-old Steven Tervit. The incident on November 10, 2022, involved a collapse of wall panels at a Renfrew site that ejected the worker from a scissor lift. The HSE found the company had failed to use required props during installation and had provided an inadequate risk assessment.
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In County Wicklow, Ireland, Glenveagh Properties and KDK Scaffolding were fined a combined €190,000 after a fatal accident at a residential construction site. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) prosecution highlighted deficiencies in safety management at the location.
In Sligo, an inquest jury recently examined the death of a waste management worker who fell from a defective lorry. The inquiry found that safety sensors on the vehicle had been manipulated and that a necessary safety barrier was absent.
