An 18-year-old apprentice carpenter was crushed to death when an unsecured stack of wooden boards, each weighing up to 30kg, fell on her while she worked alone on a property renovation, a court has heard.
Fatal Incident at Bangor Property
Chloe Bidwell was working alone at a residential property on Deiniol Road in Bangor on December 20, 2023, when the incident occurred. Llandudno Magistrates' Court heard that a mixture of board materials had been stacked vertically and left unsecured against a wall. It is believed Miss Bidwell may have been attempting to retrieve a plywood board when some of the boards fell, crushing her neck and causing fatal injuries. There were 28 boards in total, all of large dimensions and potentially weighing up to 30kg each. No attempt had been made to secure them, and the risk of them falling had not been identified.
Miss Bidwell's body was found at the house after she failed to return home that day and did not reply to text messages.
Health and Safety Failings
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Varcity Living Limited failed to provide safe systems of work and adequate information, instruction, training, and supervision. These failures were attributable to the neglect of director David Horrocks. Investigators found inadequate site supervision, no suitable lone working policy or procedure, no suitable policy for storage of board materials, and inadequate risk assessment prior to the incident.
Varcity Living Limited, of High Street, Bangor, pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £10,080 in prosecution costs. David Horrocks, of Felinheli, pleaded guilty to breaching section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison suspended for two years and ordered to pay £7,886 in costs.
Family's Unbearable Pain
Speaking after the sentencing, Miss Bidwell's mother, Clare Stephenson-Brown, said: "Chloe was only 18, full of life, energy, and determination. She had so many talents and dreams: a skilled joiner, a rugby player, a surfer, a skydiver, and a young woman who was about to travel the world and begin her journey towards becoming a firefighter. She was wise beyond her years, brave, and incredibly grounded."
She added: "Chloe died instantly and alone. The fact that she was by herself in those final moments is something that causes us unbearable pain and something we will carry forever. Knowing how full of life she was and how much she had yet to experience makes her loss impossible to accept."
Ms Stephenson-Brown said the family feels Chloe was let down at work, and that because of that they had lost her forever. She urged employers to "truly consider the responsibility they hold for the lives in their care. Safety must be meaningful in practice, ensuring risks are properly managed, lone working is safe, and that everyone who goes to work returns home."
HSE Inspector's Remarks
HSE inspector Rachael Newman said Miss Bidwell was a young apprentice joiner at the very beginning of her career and had every right to expect that her employer would take basic steps to keep her safe. She said: "The tragedy of Chloe’s death is made all the more jarring because it was so wholly avoidable. Apprentices should not be working alone on a construction site, and Chloe died in circumstances which should never have been able to happen."
She added: "Chloe's employer, Varcity Living Limited, had no safe storage system in place for the dangerously heavy boards which were stacked upright and completely unsecured. Furthermore, they had failed to provide the necessary information, instruction, training, and supervision for their young apprentice."
