Fatal power cable 'not checked'

Simon Lines had stood in the road warning other motorists

A power cable which came loose in high winds and killed a man warning others of the danger had not been checked for 28 years, an inquest has been told.

Simon Lines, 20, from Prees, Shropshire, died several days after he was hit by the cable after it had been flicked into the air by a lorry.

The fitting used to attach the wire across the A49 had rotted and split.

The occupier of the house the cable was attached to said the supply company had not checked it since he lived there.

The low-voltage cable had sagged causing the lorry to hit it and Mr Line was standing on the A49 Whitchurch Road warning motorists when he was struck in January this year.

'Urgent repair'

The accident led to a nationwide alert among power companies.

John Heathman, from Scottish Power, told the inquest in Shrewsbury that he was on the committee of inquiry into the accident which had concluded the overhead cable had come loose from a wooden board.

He said this type of fitting had since been discontinued.

The investigation, carried out by Scottish Power in Merseyside, north Wales and Shropshire, showed similar cables were being used at 110 locations across the region.

The review showed six were in need of urgent repair, he said.

Five were dealt with as a matter of urgency and a further 42 were being tackled with a target completion date of January 2008.

Engineers giving evidence said that the wooden fittings at Prees had been inspected through binoculars.

Mr Lines, who worked with his father Vincent at Prees Auto Services, died some days after the accident despite undergoing three operations.

The hearing continues.