Builder facing jail after demolition work using unskilled labour goes tragically wrong

Wolverhampton Express and Star are reporting that a builder is facing jail today after admitting the manslaughter of a 15 year old labourer, killed whilst demolishing a 23ft high wall by hand in London.

Adam Gosling was killed instantly from head injuries when the wall fell on top of him during the demolition work.

His boss Colin Holtom, 64, of Latchington, Essex pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey this week to Adam’s manslaughter on the grounds of gross negligence.

He was remanded on bail until Monday when he will be sentenced with contractor Darren Fowler, 46, of Upminster, Essex. Fowler pleaded guilty in April to breaching health & safety law.

Judge Christopher Moss warned Holtom: “Having given you bail, it does not rule out a custodial sentence”.

Holtom had denied the offence but changed his plea this week when a retrial was about to begin. The court was told that Adam and his 18 year old brother Dean had been left unsupervised to demolish the 23ft high wall and had received no demolition training prior to commencing the work.

Mr Martyn Bowyer, prosecuting, said Adam was earning £25 a day as a labourer but should never have been allowed to carry out such work, and Holtom had failed to provide safety equipment such as hard hats.

We, at C&D, feel that this tragic loss of a young life is regrettable but could have been prevented by use of trained, experienced, competent demolition labour rather than a young unskilled labourer starting out on his career.

The lesson in this case is, once again, demolition can be fatal if not treated with respect.