Teesworks: Seventeen safety incidents at Redcar site in three-month period

Of those 17 events, five were deemed “significant”, including an incident in June where two workers on a moveable platform during “demolition enabling works” were injured. One of whom was hospitalised suffering burns and a broken wrist and leg.

It comes after an incident in September 2019 where two workers working on a moveable platform - John Mackay and Tom Williams - died in an explosion on the site.

Earlier this month the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced there was “insufficient evidence to support gross or corporate manslaughter charges” following the conclusion of a joint investigation with Cleveland Police. Their investigation into the possibility of other charges being brought continues.

Regarding the most recent incident, Mr Wetherill told The Yorkshire Post: “This incident occurred on a site under the control of a Principal Contractor (Brown & Mason) in line with the CDM regulations 2015. The latest update we have is [that] this is still under investigation.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to lead an investigation into the incident according to their spokesperson.

Ann Lynch Mackay, John Mackay’s widow, released a statement describing how her family felt “upset, angry, disappointed and confused” about the length of time it took to reach the decision.

“Who knows how long it will take for us to discover who really is responsible and who will be held accountable for the loss of two hard working men’s lives? We just feel no one really cares and their deaths have been swept under the carpet,” she said.

Labour candidate for Redcar Anna Turley, who was the constituency’s MP between 2015 and 2019, shared concerns about health and safety on the site.

“This number of safety incidents on the Teesworks site just this year alone is extremely worrying. We have already seen the tragic loss of two men on this site in 2019 who should have come home to their families and who have still not seen justice.

“We all want the site to be a success and to bring jobs and prosperity to the region,” she adds, “but not at the cost of life and limb.”

Other “significant” safety incidents at the site in that time include a wagon containing scaffold which shed its load, the discovery of corrosion on drums containing hazardous material, a titanium fire, and an explosive demolition failure.

Elsewhere in the report to the board it was noted that there had been a significant month-on-month increase in the number of known intruders and unauthorised access at the site of the former Redcar steelworks.

“This is a 4,500 acres site,” said Mr Wetherill, “it's a vast area and STDC ensures various measures are in place to keep intruders off site and patrols have been stepped up.”

A two-year contract for security at the site worth £3m was awarded to NE Security Ltd in December 2021. They beat off a bid from Falck Fire Services Ltd who held the contract from November 2018 until November 2021.

Emphasising his own focus, Mr Wetherill added: “Any safety-related incident is a concern, safety is our number one priority. Teesworks work very closely with the site contractors in collaborating to ensure H&S standards are met.”