JHE Construction and Jordan Hay-Ellis pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws following an incident on 23rd February 2023.
JHE Construction had been contracted to complete a barn conversion, which included the installation of a new septic tank. In order to install the tank, workers had to excavate a three-metre deep pit.
Three men were in the hole preparing to install a concrete base for the septic tank to sit on when the walls collapsed. One of the men, 30-year-old Edward Keely was struck by falling soil which resulted in multiple bone fractures and required for him to be dug out.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that no precautions had been taken to prevent the collapse of the excavation, yet the men were expected to work in it.
JHE Construction Limited, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £2,612 in costs at Brighton Magistrates Court on 24 March 2025.
Jodran Hay-Ellie, 33, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.
HSE inspector Nathan Kent said after the hearing: “The risk associated with excavation collapse is well understood within the construction industry and this incident was easily foreseeable.
“All excavation work should be supported or battered back. Failure to do so in this case resulted in a young man sustained very serious injuries. HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all they can to keep people safe.”
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