Thames Water fined for breaches of basic safety precautions outside local school
Road works that forced pedestrians to walk into on coming traffic have landed a utility company in hot water.
Thames Water was fined, on March 31, for breaches of basic safety precautions outside a local school.
West London Magistrates heard that, in June 2008, council inspectors found road works outside Burlington Danes School that forced pedestrians to walk into oncoming traffic. A Thames Water van was also blocking the school entrance, on Scrubs Lane, driving pedestrians onto the busy northbound carriageway.
In sentencing, District Judge Phillips described the works as ’intolerable’ and fined the company £2,750 and ordered them to pay £1,000 costs.
In a second incident a month later council inspectors found that a temporary footway outside 731 Fulham Road was being blocked by Thames Water workers. The walkway also failed to offer pedestrians the minimum width of one metre and there were no kerb ramps in place for wheelchair users.
Again, the magistrate was scathing when sentencing Thames Water, saying that, “there is a duty towards the elderly and the disabled – they should not be put at the bottom of the pile". The utility company was found guilty and fined £2,750 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.
H&F Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Nicholas Botterill, said, “We are simply not going to let utility companies that show disregard for the safety of the public get away with this sort of thing, and I am delighted that the magistrate has backed our tough stance.
“We are committed to holding the people who dig up our roads to account. Companies like Thames Water know they need to follow the guidelines and if they don’t we will take them to court.”
May 1, 2009