Concerns about a bowing wall of a rental property that collapsed and crushed a grandmother as she hung out her washing were reported nearly eight years before her death, a coroner has said.
Clarice Berry, 77, was buried under 10ft of rubble when the gable end of the semi-detached house on Old Lane, Shevington, Wigan, came down on July 18, 2021. She died from chest injuries.
A coroner previously heard how she was hanging out laundry underneath the lean-to carport when bricks began to fall before the 'timebomb' wall - weighing around 3,800kg - completely gave way and landed on her.
Neighbours' desperate rescue attempt
Horrified neighbours and passers-by, who said it sounded like a 'bomb had gone off', rushed to the scene and desperately attempted to save Mrs Berry from beneath the debris. The married grandmother-of-six - a retired kitchen assistant - was eventually freed by firefighters and rushed to Wigan Infirmary where she later died.
Coroner Briona Hartley described the death as 'senseless' and a 'tragedy' at an inquest at Bolton Coroners' Court last year. She slammed the failure by the property landlord to repair the brickwork, which her husband Arthur said he had repeatedly complained about.
Giving a narrative conclusion, Ms Hartley said: "Clarice Berry died as a result of chest injuries sustained when the gable end wall and the upper part of the outer leaf of the end wall of her home collapsed onto her."
"In circumstances where the wall was affected by structural defects including wall tie failure of which there was no clear evidence, and where no investigation or remedial works has been carried out, which, if undertaken would have prevented the collapse."
Concerns raised over eight years
Ms Hartley said Mrs Berry's death could have been prevented if action was taken after concerns about the wall were repeatedly raised. In a prevention of future deaths report published on Thursday (September 17), Ms Hartley said Mrs Berry's husband reported the bowing wall nearly eight years prior.
The end-of-terrace rental property was owned by landlord S&G Properties (No 2) Limited and overseen by property management company KMPM. From 2013 onwards, the property showed signs of cavity wall tie erosion, Ms Hartley's report said.
Mr Berry reported concerns to the property's previous managing agent, but his report 'fell by the wayside' when a new managing agent, Kaye Mackenzie, took over, coroners papers state.
A property manager from Kaye Mackenzie visited the property in August 2013 and recorded in his notes: "Gable wall big bulge in wall – needs urgent repointing/+rebuild."
The same manager visited the property again in March 2016 and noted that the gable 'needs repointing'. The manager retired when Kaye Mackenzie was wound up in January 2020. One of the former partners continued the property management side of the business as the company KMPM, the coroner added.
Failure to act
The bulge in the gable wall was pointed out again in around February or March 2021, to a gas engineer who was at the property to install a new boiler, but no works were carried out, Ms Hartley wrote.
She noted in her report: "There was no monitoring of, and no structural engineer or quantity surveyor was instructed to investigate, the defective brickwork."
After Mrs Berry's death, investigations revealed the bowing had been caused by 'the complete failure' of a series of wall ties in the upper part of the cavity wall below the gable wall.
The inquest heard evidence that the wall's eventual collapse was 'inevitable' without the necessary repairs and that it was unlikely to have lasted another winter had it not collapsed when it did, the report said.
Ms Hartley wrote: "I found that any reasonably competent property management company and/or responsible landlord would, at the very least, have ensured that the wall was monitored for any signs of progression and, by no later than 2018, would have ensured that a structural survey was performed."
She added that, had such investigations happened, the collapse which caused Mrs Berry's death would have been prevented. The coroner found neither the landlord nor the property management company followed government guidance designed to minimise potential hazards.
Ms Hartley said no clear systems were in place to prevent a similar incident from happening again, 'namely the development of a serious hazard during a tenancy which, as in the deceased's case, is reported but is not appropriately or timeously responded to, or which is not identified by the tenant'.
Neither company carried out a post-incident evaluation to assess whether their properties were free from serious, outstanding hazards which have not come to the attention of the local authority, she added.
Company responses
In a response, a director of S&G Properties (No 2) Limited - whose name was redacted in the report - said Mrs Berry's death was 'a terrible tragedy and one which has caused me considerable sadness'. Among the actions the company said it has taken were arrangements for independent inspections to be carried out for all its residential properties.
In its response, KMPM said: "KMPM has undertaken a comprehensive review of its property management procedures and has introduced a number of significant changes to its inspection, hazard identification, escalation, compliance monitoring and project management procedures."
Speaking after the inquest last year, Mrs Berry's daughter Amanda Berry-Smith said: "While nothing can bring our mum back or change what happened, we feel the conclusion is appropriate and reflects the evidence heard. This has been a devastating loss for our family, and we would not wish such trauma on anyone else."
"We welcome the intention to issue a report to prevent future deaths Regulation 28 of the coroners (investigations) regulations 2013. We hope it supports learning and helps reduce the risk of similar tragedies in the future. At this time, our focus is on remembering Clarice – a dearly loved wife and mum – and supporting one another as a family."
