A specialist contractor has been fined £60,000 after a worker fell to his death while carrying out restoration work on a Birmingham church steeple.
David Clover, 64, was working for Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks Ltd when he suffered fatal injuries on 13 November 2020. Suspended 60 metres above the ground in a bosun’s chair at St Nicolas’ Church in Kings Norton, he fell due to a lack of a proper backup system. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that his chair was not supported by a twin-leg lanyard or any other fall arrest system.
Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks has since ceased trading, after having pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £60,000 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 15 January 2025. Judge Quereshi noted that the company had ‘outdated attitudes’ toward health and safety, which is something of an understatement when those attitudes cost a man his life.
A Preventable Death
A proper fall arrest system could have saved David Clover. Instead, safety standards were ignored and a worker lost his life. A fine of £60,000 is insignificant compared to the devastation this has caused. His family will never see him again. His friends and colleagues will always know that his death could have been prevented. Those who worked with him may now question their own safety, wondering if they, too, were left unprotected.
This case is a stark reminder that working at height is one of the most dangerous jobs in Britain. HSE statistics show that 50 people died from falls in 2023-2024 alone. It is a leading cause of workplace fatalities, yet some companies still fail to take it seriously.
Training Must Keep Up with Changing Standards
One of the key issues in this case was the company’s obvious failure to evolve. Regulations and safety practices change over time, but when businesses do not keep up with new standards, workers are put at risk.
Training is not a one-time event. Workers and supervisors must regularly refresh their knowledge. Without this, safety procedures become outdated and people forget essential precautions. A company that neglects ongoing training is gambling with lives, and Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks gambled with and lost a man’s life.
The Cost of Cutting Corners
Some employers avoid extra safety measures because they see them as unnecessary expenses. But the real cost of neglecting safety is far greater. In this case, the company is now shut down, fined, and publicly shamed. More importantly, a man is dead. His family will never recover from this loss. No fine can make up for that.
This tragedy should serve as a warning. Employers must prioritise safety over convenience. If they do not, it is only a matter of time before another worker pays the price.
To find out more about regular training for work at height, contact Ability International today.
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