Shoppers were crushed when a large hoarding collapsed in the heart of
Oxford Street less than 24 hours after it had been erected, a court has
heard.
Four people were injured, three seriously, in the incident
on 7 March 2012. They included 25 year-old Charlotte Hammond, from
Romford, who sustained an open fracture of her right ankle that required
extensive surgery.
The hoarding, which was some 3.6m high and
weighed nearly a tonne, had been put up the previous day by
Wiltshire-based Oracle Interiors Ltd to fence off a clothing store that
was being refurbished.
The shop fitting firm was prosecuted
yesterday (3 December) after an investigation by the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) identified serious flaws with the temporary structure.
Westminster
Magistrates’ Court heard the hoarding was held in place by a single
timber brace. As such it was inherently weak and wasn’t designed or
installed to sufficiently withstand gusts of wind or knocks from passing
shoppers, both of which should have been factored in.
An
estimated 20 people were trapped by the hoarding when it came down,
although most managed to escape unharmed as emergency crews and fellow
passers-by rushed to help.
Injuries sustained by the other
victims, none of whom want to be identified, included broken bones in
the back and crushed nerves in an arm.
Oracle Interiors Ltd, of
Lysander Way, Salisbury, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £13,069 in
costs after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Construction
(Design and Management) Regulations 2007. Combined NEBOSH National General and Construction Course
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