Stonemason working in Australia killed on site

A MAN working abroad as a stonemason was killed after “several tonnes” of bricks and scaffolding crashed down on him.

Alistair Bidmead, originally from the Cotswolds, was working on the facade of a high school in Sydney, Australia, when he was crushed last Friday.

Despite the best efforts of New South Wales Ambulance staff, Mr Bidmead could not be revived, The Mirror reported. Inspector Michael Corlis told 9News: “His injuries were [such] he could not be resuscitated ... unfortunately there was nothing we could do.”

It has been reported that Mr Bidmead’s colleagues watched on as the facade broke loose from the school before falling on top of him at around 11am.

It took five hours for a crane to remove the piles of masonry and rubble covering Mr Bidmead’s body.

A spokesperson for NSW Police Force said: “Emergency services were called to a school on Parramatta Road, Petersham, following reports that stone had collapsed on a man. Officers found a worker trapped underneath large stones.

“Paramedics attended and pronounced the man deceased. A crime scene was established and inquiries into the incident commenced. Safe Work NSW have been notified of the incident.”

Mr Bidmead had set up a business in Sydney working on heritage sites. His business, Bidmead & Co, had been operating for around 16 years in the UK and Australia.

He had started working in the stone industry at the age of 16, taking up an apprenticeship with a local masonry company. After attending Bath College to further his skills and setting his own company up at just 19 years old, he was awarded first place in a Cotswold dry stone walling competition – his prize was presented to him by Princess Anne in a ceremony at Gatcombe Park.

Sydney’s education department and the school are still to comment about the incident.