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Oxfordshire company fined £450,000 after engineer is electrocuted by power line
Overview
Cotswold Rainwater Services Ltd has been fined £450,000 at Oxford Crown Court after pleading guilty to corporate manslaughter following the death of 34-year-old guttering engineer Andrew Claridge. Mr Claridge was electrocuted by an overhead power line while working at a property in Longworth on 14 November 2024. A joint investigation by Thames Valley Police and the Health and Safety Executive revealed that the company failed to carry out a risk assessment despite a previous non-fatal electrocution incident at the same location in 2020.
Key points
- Cotswold Rainwater Services Ltd was fined £450,000, ordered to pay £15,735 in costs, and given a £2,000 victim surcharge.
- The company previously pleaded guilty to one count of corporate manslaughter.
- Andrew Claridge, a 34-year-old guttering engineer, died from electrocution on 14 November 2024 in Longworth, near Abingdon.
- Investigators found that another employee had suffered minor injuries from overhead power lines at the same site in 2020.
- The firm failed to carry out a risk assessment or identify the dangers posed by the overhead power lines before sending employees back to the site in 2024.