Devonshire contractors £120,000

Two Devonshire companies have been fined a total of £120,000 after an employee was killed and a colleague left with life-altering injuries when a cherrypicker collided with an 11,000-volt overhead powerline.  An HSE investigation found that while the companies had been advised by the principal contractor and the utility company to relocate the overhead powerline before commencing work, but they had not done so. Furthermore the companies put no adequate control measures in place, such as height restrictors on cherry pickers or restricted work areas. Supervision, monitoring and site induction were also found to be poor.