Hefty fines have been handed down for a fatal accident on a North London site caused by overloading a mini crane.

Above: The overturned crane

Craig Page, 26, of Islington, was killed while working on a building site in Denning Road, Hampstead in March 2009 when a mini crawler crane was in the process of lifting a slurry-filled skip onto the site.

The crane was being used to place the load beyond the safe working radius. It overturned and the boom crushed Mr Page. He died at the scene.

Harris Calnan Construction Co. Ltd and its director, Neil Harris, were prosecuted by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for breaching health and safety legislation.

The HSE investigation showed the company failed to properly plan or supervise lifting operations on the site.

The Central Criminal Court heard that the construction site was poorly managed by the company who failed to ensure the lifting operation was carried out safely. The 8-tonne capacity mini crawler crane was rented bare (without an operator) from a hire company, placing all responsibility for lifting operations with the lessee.

HSE inspector Dominic Ellis said: "From the start of this project the defendants failed to control even the most basic of risks on the construction site. These failings ultimately resulted in the tragic and entirely avoidable death of Mr Page.

"The defendant's failure to appropriately plan, manage and supervise lifting operations on site led to this incident.

"The attempted lift of a liquid concrete load at a distance far in excess of the crane's safe working parameters was wholly inappropriate. The potential for overturn in these circumstances is well known, entirely foreseeable and could have been simply prevented."

Harris Calnan Construction Co. Ltd, of Parmenter House, Tower Street, Winchester, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 8(1)(c) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £66,244.

The firm's director, Neil Harris, of the same address, pleaded guilty by virtue of Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to regulation 8(1)(a) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000.

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