The death of a young boy who fell down an open manhole at a construction site could have been avoided, a sheriff has determined.
Shea Ryan, 10, was able to bypass insecure fencing at the site situated fewer than 200ft from a children’s play park in Glasgow’s Drumchapel on July 16, 2020.
The schoolboy sat on the open manhole which had a drop of 20ft to the ground.
He was overheard saying that he wanted to ‘go down.’
Shea unfortunately slipped from a ladder at the entrance of the manhole to the water below.
The youngster was later found cold to the touch with severe head injuries and was not breathing.
Contractors RJ McLeod were fined £860,000 in April 2023 after they pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to failing to implement safety measures.
A fatal accident inquiry into Shea’s death took place at the same court before Sheriff Stuart Reid.
Shea Ryan, 10, (pictured) was able to bypass insecure fencing at the site situated 60 metres from a children’s play park in Glasgow ‘s Drumchapel on July 16 2020
Flowers laid at the building site Shea died at
The sheriff determined that there were five reasonable precautions which could have been taken which realistically could have prevented Shea’s death.
The probe heard that company Amey Black & Veatch who were working at the site removed a bag of material from the manhole shortly before they transferred the site over to RJ McLeod.
Sheriff Reid stated that poor co-operation between Amey Black and Veatch and RJ McLeod contributed to the death.
This included communication about the general risks associated with the construction site.
Another contributory reason of death was stated to be the failure of RJ McLeod to take measures to prevent unauthorised access to the manhole.
The sheriff suggested a metal lid or a heavy object could have been used as well as fully enclosed fencing around the manhole.
A further stated reason of death was RJ McLeod’s failure to assess the risk of unauthorised people such as children gaining access to the site.
There was a lack of inspection and maintenance of the parameter fencing to prevent unauthorised access to the site.
Furthermore, there was failure to inspect the manhole at the end of the working day to see if it was fully closed with no access for children.
Another cause of death was stated to be Shea climbing into the manhole and his intention of climbing down the ladder.
Contractors RJ McLeod were fined £860,000 in April 2023 after they pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to failing to implement safety measures
Shea sat on the open manhole which had a drop of 6.3 metres to the ground
The sheriff claimed another cause was the removal of the heavy bag of material from the manhole before the transfer to RJ McLeod.
Sheriff Reid further stated that a contributory factor were defects in the system of work.
The probe was told that there was no system for RJ McLeod employees to record, monitor, document or report incidents of damage to the construction site and its parameter fencing.
The sheriff further cited the site’s proximity to a children’s play park to the construction site as another relevant factor.
Furthermore, the Covid-19 lockdown which resulted in school closures also contributed.
Sheriff Reid made eight recommendations at his determination.
The sheriff asked for a review of The Health and Safety Executive’s published guidance on construction to promote the objective of protecting children from risks at construction sites.
Sheriff Reid also asked for incidents of parameter breaches to be recorded and action taken to prevent it happening again.
Another recommendation is for manholes to be covered by a heavy object to prevent them from being accessed out with operational hours.
The sheriff further asked there to be a duty of co-operation between contractors working on construction sites.
Further to this, it was recommended that information be shared between contractors which includes unauthorised access to sites, vandalism as well as disorderly conduct by members of the public towards workers.
The sheriff also recommended that information should be shared between contractors in terms of risks of injury or death and measures taken to control it.
Another recommendation was for contractors to highlight the risks in terms of children’s play parks.
This includes risks of damage to fencing near the play parks as well as the unauthorised access from children to the sites.
The sheriff has stated that contractors should consider taking enhanced precautionary measures due to the increased risks.
Sheriff Reid lastly recommended that Glasgow City Council and other local authorities should review their procedures when it comes to play parks located near a construction site.
This includes a risk assessment to see if there are any dangers of having a play park in the vicinity of a construction site.
The council have been asked to determine if the risks can be controlled and if the park should remain open during the period of construction. This also includes temporarily dismantling or relocating a play park.
Sheriff Reid said: ‘I wish to acknowledge the particular courage and kindness of Mr Graeme Paterson, Mr Jamie Adams, and Constables Bryan Courtney, Holly McConnachie and Nigel McDonald, who, being among the first adults at the scene of the accident, tried so valiantly to save Shea’s life.
‘Lastly, may I express my sincere condolences to Shea’s mother, Joanne Ferguson, and to his step-father and family, for their loss.
‘Some small solace may perhaps be drawn from the outcome of this Inquiry, and the protections from which other children may hopefully benefit.’