H&F Basement Digs to be Inspected Next Week

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Following death of labourer Anghel in Fulham

Basement projects in Hammersmith and Fulham are to be inspected by the Health and Safety Executive, or HSE, next week amid concerns that there has been a rise in the number of incidents.

The inspections, which will begin on Monday March 9, follow the death in 2010 of 37 year-old Anghel Milosavlevici, who was crushed to death while working on a basement excavation in Ellerby Street in Fulham.

Mr Milosavlevici was employed by Siday Construction Ltd to work on a renovation at a residential Victorian property.

However the excavations were not properly supported and they collapsed, crushing and trapping him. The emergency services were called but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Last December Richard Golding, a qualified health and safety advisor employed by AllDay Safety Services to provide health and safety advice to Siday Construction was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for nine months.

The HSE say this tragedy is one of 17 deaths caused by an excavation collapsing over the last ten years, while 27 people have been seriously injured.

Construction inspectors will be focusing on properties in Kensington and Chelsea as well as Hammersmith and Fulham throughout the week, as the government looks to clamp down on bad safety practices in this increasingly popular sector.

Inspection teams will be looking at key safety issues including collapsing excavations, risk of building collapse from structural alterations or undermining by excavating, the dangers of handling heavy steel beams, poor access and risks of open or unprotected parts of sites.

HSE could also pursue action for other issues such as poor welfare facilities and lack of training.

Folowing last December's court case, Anghel’s sister Cristina and fiancée Claudia released a statement saying: " Anghel’s death is such a tragic loss. He was the most gentle, kind-hearted and generous man you could ever hope to meet.

" He worked for Conrad Sidebottom for more than two years before he was killed, but we were shocked to hear evidence at the trial about how dangerous the site had become, and how little concern Mr Sidebottom showed for the safety of everyone involved in the excavation works.

" We hope today’s verdict makes other construction company directors take stock of their own working practices, and ensure that they are doing everything possible to keep their workers safe."

March 6, 2015