Manhole error left OAP paraplegic

Company boss Mr Gaskell pleaded guilty at Wrexham Magistrates Court

A drainage company has been fined £16,000 after a pensioner was left paralysed when he fell 18ft down an uncovered manhole.

Paul O'Regan, 74, now paraplegic, did not see the hole in the road just yards from his Wrexham home.

At Wrexham Magistrates Court on Thursday, Chester-based Drainbusters North West Ltd admitted breaching health and safety laws.

In a statement Mr O'Regan said his independence was "gone forever".

The court heard how Mr O'Regan lived with his wife on a Redrow Homes estate.

On 18 November 2005, Redrow had contracted Drainbusters to carry out survey work.

Cries for help

Mr O'Regan, a former Hong Kong policeman, was pruning his roses when he noticed a neighbour having difficulty pulling out of their drive past the Drainbusters van.

He went to ask the workmen to move, but fell down the 18ft hole as he walked round the van.

Tudor Williams, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), told how Mr O'Regan was left curled in agony in a sewer.

His cries for help initially went unheard because a generator inside the van was switched on.

But eventually the company's managing director, Martin Gaskell, and an employee, raised the alarm.

They waited with him until the fire service were able to winch Mr O'Regan out.

The injuries I suffered in the accident were horrendous, but the mental anguish is worse Paul O'Regan

In a witness statement read to the court, Mr O'Regan told how he was now confined to a wheelchair.

"He said: "All the spontaneity and independence I had in my life has gone. It's gone forever."

He said his wife was 70 and now had to take complete care of him. They had previously enjoyed walking and holidaying together.

He said: "The injuries I suffered in the accident were horrendous, but the mental anguish is worse.

"The accident has left me with no control over my body."

In his statement, he added: "I know I'm not going to live forever, but I expected something different in my twilight years, and not the disaster which has befallen me for the laziness and lack of foresight of the subcontractor."

The court heard how company boss Mr Gaskell and his assistant had placed two cones around the manhole and had parked the van close the hole.

This was a very serious incident which could well have resulted in a fatality HSE inspector Debbie John

Mr Gaskell's employee had received no training on street works prior to the accident.

The company had no previous convictions and immediately after the accident Mr Gaskell purchased barrier equipment and signage.

Defending, Suzanne Drinkwater said the company had accepted guilt at the earliest opportunity.

She said the company had suffered a loss of business, and the managing director had conveyed his sincere sympathies for the accident.

She told magistrates: "You are not looking at a multinational company. It's a small business in which they have accepted their responsibility for this incident and come before you pleading guilty."

Presiding magistrate Judith Barlow said: "We found there was a lack of training and awareness of the danger to the public."

The company was fined £16,000 with £5,508 costs.

The magistrates passed on their condolences to Mr O'Regan, who is also pursuing a civil claim.

Outside court, HSE inspector Debbie John said: "This was a very serious incident which could well have resulted in a fatality."