Lincoln builder prosecuted after worker is left paralysed
Health and safety prosecution: A Lincoln builder received a suspended prison sentence after a bricklayer was left paralysed following a three-metre fall from faulty scaffolding.
The scaffold which Mr Wilkin fell from. Photo: HSE
A Lincoln builder has been handed a four-month suspended prison sentence after a self-employed bricklayer broke his back in two places following a three-metre fall from faulty scaffolding.
Robert Wilkin (70) from Lincoln was left paralysed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life following the incident at a warehouse on Freeman Road in North Hykeham in February 2013.
The bricklayer spent five months in hospital and has had to have his home especially converted so he can live on the ground floor.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified serious safety failings in the construction of the scaffolding by Rodney Foyster, who had sub-contracted Mr Wilkin to carry out the bricklaying work.
Lincoln Magistrates’ Court was told on February 20 that HSE found Rodney Foyster was not trained in building scaffolding.
He failed to check it was safe for use and failed to ensure the safety of workers once it was in use.
Mr Foyster was hired to fix a wall that had been damaged at the warehouse after a lorry had reversed into it and had sub-contracted Mr Wilkin for the bricklaying.
Mr Foyster bought and erected the second-hand scaffolding before Mr Wilkin was appointed.
Scaffolding towers were positioned both on the inside and the outside of the warehouse. Wooden boards were removed from the tower on the inside and used to form a makeshift bridge between the two towers.
When the incident happened, Mr Wilkin’s son, Damien, climbed the ladder to the top of the scaffold tower inside the building and successfully made it across the makeshift bridge to the outside scaffold tower.
However, when Mr Wilkin climbed the ladder, he fell from the wooden boards onto the concrete floor three metres below, suffering life-changing injuries.
After the incident HSE served a Prohibition Notice on Mr Foyster halting further work on the scaffolds until acceptable safety measures were put in place.
Rodney Foyster (56) of Mons Road in Lincoln was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours worth of unpaid community work.
He was also ordered to pay £2,941 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Robert Wilkin said: “I don’t remember much about what happened after I fell.
“Lots of people were rushing about and it took the ambulance crew about 20 minutes to get me onto a back board because I had fallen in an awkward place between pallets of bricks.
“I had an operation to fuse together my spine which was fractured in two places. I remember being in a lot of pain and was on morphine and sleeping tablets.
“Within a couple of days I was told it was unlikely I would ever walk again and I’ve been in a wheelchair ever since.
“My hobbies used to be collecting antiques, walking and gardening but I can’t do these things anymore. I find this all very difficult as I used to be very active.
“My life has been ruined because I can no longer do the things I used to do. I can’t go out on my own or drive. I feel my freedom has been taken from me and it’s been really hard on my family.”
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Waring said: “Our investigations revealed a catalogue of errors made by Mr Foyster in the assembly of this scaffolding – something he was neither qualified for nor competent in doing.
“There were numerous defects such as no edge protection, poor ladder safety and insufficient access onto the scaffolds.
“Mr Wilkin has unfortunately paid for this lack of care with his health, having been left paralysed for the rest of his life.”
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City of Lincoln Council has approved a 1.9% tax hike despite a series of cuts for 2021-22 due to the financial uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 1.9% rise will take city council’s share of council tax for a Band D property in Lincoln to £285.39 – an increase of £5.31.
The executive committee agreed on increasing allotment charges, council house and garage rents.
Council bosses predict a budget gap of £1.75 million and said it must close the hole for financial stability.
Allotment charges will also see most tenants pay between £58.70-£78.30 per year from 2022, an increase of between 38p and 51 pence per week.
Council housing rent will increase by an average of 1.5%, while council garage rents will increase by 3%.
Attendees at City of Lincoln Council’s executive on Monday.
The authority said it faces a number of ongoing challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic and requires a substantial reduction in all of its budgets.
Cllr Ric Metcalfe, Leader of City of Lincoln Council said: “It’sareasonablymodestincreaseformostpeople,andwewill support lowincomegroups stillwiththeconcessions.”
The council has saved more than £9 million annually over the past decade, however will have to increase savings by £850,000 next year, rising to £1.75 million by 2023/24.
Due to the pandemic’s impact on government funded reliefs, empty properties and business closures, the authority estimates it will only retain £5.1 million of the £42 million of business rates generated in the city.
The draft budget will go to consultation and return before the council later this year for a final decision.
There have been 372 new coronavirus cases and nine COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Monday.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 325 new cases in Lincolnshire, 30 in North Lincolnshire and 17 in North East Lincolnshire.
Some nine deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and none in North and North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported nine new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and one at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust on Monday. Hospital deaths have now surpassed 1,000 since the pandemic started in Greater Lincolnshire.
National cases increased by 37,535 to 3,433,494, while deaths rose by 599 to 89,860.
Leader of South Holland District Council, Cllr Lord Gary Porter, put the spike down to outbreaks in two care facilities, one being a children’s care home.
A group of urban explorers who travelled from three different counties to look around derelict buildings were caught and fined in Grantham for breaching lockdown rules. Two groups of revellers in the woods near Woodhall Spa have also been fined.
In national news, Public Health England have confirmed 4,062,501 people have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Those in England aged 70 and over, as well as the clinically extremely vulnerable, will begin receiving offers of a coronavirus vaccine this week.
Ten hospital trusts across England consistently reported having no spare adult critical care beds in the most recent figures available.
It comes as hospital waiting times, coronavirus admissions and patients requiring intensive care are rising.
All UK travel corridors, which allow arrivals from some countries to avoid having to quarantine, have now closed until at least February 15.
Travellers arriving in the UK, whether by boat, train or plane, also have to show proof of a negative coronavirus test to be allowed entry.
Supermarkets face increased inspections from local councils to ensure they are COVID-secure amid a push from the government to clamp down further on coronavirus transmission.
Local governments have been asked by ministers to target the largest supermarkets for inspection to ensure companies are enforcing mask wearing, social distancing and limits on shopper numbers.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate up to January 17 according to the government dashboard:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Jan 11 to Jan 17. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Monday, January 18
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
44,374 cases (up 372)
30,784 in Lincolnshire (up 325)
6,927 in North Lincolnshire (up 30)
6,663 in North East Lincolnshire (up 17)
1,686 deaths (up nine)
1,196 from Lincolnshire (up nine)
268 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
222 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,006 hospital deaths (up 10)
612 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up nine)
30 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
363 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up one)
3,433,494 UK cases, 89,860 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Eight people were fined for two separate COVID-19 rule breaches over the weekend, after being found partying and camping near Woodhall Spa.
Officers were called to two different incidents at Ostler’s Plantation, a woodland area near Woodhall Spa on Saturday, January 16 and on Sunday, January 17.
Five people were issued with £200 fines after a report of partying at around 11.08pm on Saturday.
The next morning, police were again called to the area at 8.21am after people were seen camping at the location.
Three people were fined as a result of this, again valued at £200 due to being first time offenders.
If these fines are paid within 14 days of the offence, the cost will be cut in half to £100.
On the same weekend, but this time in a different location, six urban explorers were fined after travelling from three different counties to try and gain access to an abandoned hospital in Grantham.
The behaviour of COVID-19 rule breakers has been described as “dangerous” by Lincolnshire Police’s assistant chief constable Kerrin Wilson, who referred to them as “Covidiots”.