Building firm fined over death of pensioner

83-year-old Fife man with onset dementia drowned after he wandered into construction site and fell into trench

An elderly man drowned after wandering into a construction site which a court heard had numerous gaps in its boundary.

John Philbin, 83, who was suffering from the onset of dementia, fell into a water-filled trench at Sandford Park, Kirkcaldy.

Police mounted a search after he was reported missing but it was a site worker who discovered his body the following morning, on January 8 2015, at the Chapel Level residential development.

Mr Philbin, who was living with family near the site, also suffered a cardiac arrest but it is not known whether it occurred before or after he fell into the water.

At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court the site’s main contractor, Sandford Park Ltd, was fined £110,000.

The company, which traded as Ambassador Homes, admitted failing to take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access between plots 214 and 215 and failing to ensure the site was completely enclosed, whereby Mr Philbin fell into an excavation and died.

Mr Philbin, previously of Thornton, regularly walked to his local pub for a drink and his family became worried when he failed to return home on the afternoon of January 7 2015.

Due to poor weather conditions the construction site had closed early and a ground worker made the tragic discovery the following morning as he pumped water from the flooded trench.

An inspection was conducted by the Health and Safety Executive and an improvement notice served on Sandford Park Ltd.

The court heard one of the gaps in the hedgerow, which a person could get through, was near a children’s playpark.

It was also told there had been issues with dog walkers and children gaining access to the site, which was previously used for recreation.

Following Mr Philbin’s death, the company erected Heras fencing around the whole perimeter of the site.

David Gaffney, one of the company’s three directors, issued an apology to Mr Philbin’s family.

The company’s counsel, Barry Smith, said issues with people accessing the site occurred during earlier phases of the development, previously carried out by Bett Homes, and that Sandford Park had worked with Fife Council to address these.