Construction company fined £60,000 after steeplejack plunged 200ft to his death from church spire

21 January 2025, 11:12

A specialist construction company has been fined £60,000 after a man plunged to his death from a 200ft high section of church roof.

David Clover, 64, fell from his 'bosun's chair' which was suspended from the church's 60-metre steeple, as he conducted work on the religious building on November 13, 2020.

Mr Clover was employed by Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks Ltd to carry out restoration work to St Nicholas’ Church in Kings Norton, Birmingham, when the accident happened.

During the work, the steeplejack is said to have slipped from his seat, which had no harness or backup safety mechanism in place, before hitting the ground, suffering fatal injuries.

The presiding Judge found the company had "outdated attitudes" to managing health and safety.

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50 people died as a result of a fall from height between 2023 and 2024, according to official statistics released from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The Grade 1 listed building was cordoned off following the incident, with Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks Ltd pleading guilty to contravening Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The company, which has ceased trading since the incident, was fined £60,000 at a hearing at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 15 January 2025.

A subsequent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identifying that the bosun’s chair was "not supported by a suitable backup system preventing falls, such as, a double or twin leg lanyard fall arrest harness".

Over the past decade a number of steeplejacks have been injured on the job - including at one Nottingham firm which was fined £100,000 after one of its workers was killed and another injured in two separate falls.

"Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries," the HSE explained.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Emma Page said: “Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of work-related deaths and injury in Great Britain.

“We will take action against companies that fail to protect workers.

“Our thoughts remain with the family of David Clover.”