Eight-year-old girl has big toe amputated after wall collapses on her as she walked down street with her mother

The girl was walking down Barnsley Road in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, when the incident happened, Leeds Magistrates' Court heard.

A property firm has now been fined for safety breached which led to the wall collapse at a construction site.

Gurmit Properties Limited (GPL) had received a large delivery of aggregate, which it had left on neighbouring land. After being told to remove it by the council, GPL brought the materials back onto the site and stored it by the wall, which led to its collapse.

The girl had to have her big toe amputated after the wall fell on her in Harrow Street on February 7, 2018. She was left with serious injuries, including a crushed foot.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that GPL had not assessed the structural integrity of the wall to ensure it was safe to be used as either a secure boundary for the site or as a retaining wall for storing materials.

When the materials were stored against the wall, it failed and this led directly to the collapse and the injuries to the child.

GPL was a client and a contractor within the meaning of Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and failed in its duty to ensure that the wall was either safe for use as a secure site boundary or as a retaining wall for storing materials.

The company, which is registered to Albion Street, Castleford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

It has been fined £22,500 and ordered to pay £11,998.80 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Chris Tilley said: “The company should have appointed a competent person to carry out an assessment of the wall at the start of the project to establish whether it was safe to use as a boundary wall and then carried out a similar assessment when the wall was then used as a retaining wall for storing materials.

“This incident could have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and adopting safe working practices.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”