No charges after bridge fall deaths

The men fell 80ft from an aluminium gantry

There is to be no prosecution over the deaths of four construction workers who fell to their deaths from a motorway viaduct.

Father-of-two Jeff Williams, 42, from Newport in south Wales, was killed when he fell 80ft when the gantry he was working on collapsed.

Jeff Williams from Newport was one of those who died

Paul Stewart from Newcastle, Ronald Hill from Glasgow and Andrew Rogers from Middlesbrough also died in the accident on the Avonmouth Bridge, on the M5 near Bristol, last September.

Back in March, Avon and Somerset Police announced that they had arrested nine people in relation to the incident.

All were later released or bailed without charge.

A Health and Safety Executive inquest into the deaths was opened and adjourned last year.

A file was presented by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether or not to prosecute for manslaughter.

But the file has now been handed back to the Health and Safety Executive, which is now to decide whether to prosecute under workplace safety legislation.

"Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service we do not intend to prosecute any company or individual for manslaughter in respect to the Avonmouth Bridge tragedy," said Inspector Keith Jones of Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

"The Health and Safety Executive will now be considering this advice and the available evidence for possible serious breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act."

A Health and Safety spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the file has been passed on to us and the evidence gathered is being examined again for a possible prosecution under Health and Safety at Work legislation.

"A decision will be made shortly."