Worker killed by falling masonry

A coroner has recorded a verdict of accidental death into the case of a demolition worker killed by falling bricks on a building site in Cardiff.

Clive Tamplin, 45, from Port Talbot, had been acting as a look-out to protect members of the public while his colleague demolished a wall at a project in Roath.

He shouted up to me 'knock it down'. I didn't hear him call out again

Anthony Proctor, colleague

The court heard Mr Tamplin was standing in the area where debris was falling and was struck by falling masonry.

The incident happened in December 2001, while Mr Tamplin was working for a Port Talbot-based demolition company employed to knock down two terraced houses in Piercefield Place.

Anthony Proctor, who was carrying out the demolition, said he was alerted to the incident by two women who had seen Mr Tamplin lying on the ground while bricks fell on him.

"Clive was standing by the drop zone - the area where the bricks would fall into," Mr Proctor told Cardiff Coroners Court.

"He shouted up to me 'knock it down'. I didn't hear him call out again.

"A couple of minutes later, two women shouted up to me to stop," he said.

Mr Proctor said that he could not see where the bricks were landing because the wall was too high.

Written statement

Hazel Hughes, a student living nearby, was watching the workmen from her bedroom window.

I took some pieces of rubble off the man's chest and legs and saw his hand and head were wounded

Witness Hazel Hughes

In a written statement she told the inquest: "My eyes followed the bricks to the ground which is when I noticed a man lying on the ground in front of the scaffolding.

"Then I saw a brick hit him on his left leg and he did not flinch at all.

"I could see that his head and hands were twitching," she added.

The coroner heard how Miss Hughes and a friend ran to the site to alert Mr Proctor to what had happened.

Skull fractures

Mr Tamplin, who was married and from Baglan, Port Talbot, was treated for skull fractures at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, but died from his injuries.

Pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbetter said the cause of death was an injury to the head with a blunt object.

Cardiff coroner, Dr Lawrence Addicott said: "Although we will never be able to say for sure what happened, Mr Tamplin was struck on the head by falling masonry or falling objects."

An investigation into Mr Tamplin's death has been investigated by the Health and Safety Executive, however no prosecution is being made.