A Tarporley construction firm has been ordered to pay almost £400,000 after a bricklayer was crushed to death by a pack of bricks.

Edgemere Projects Limited, of Tirley Lane, was the main contractor at a construction site in Wilmslow when 23-year-old Andrew Dytiche sustained fatal injuries on January 7, 2011, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday (January 29).

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the storage of materials was poorly organised and pallets used to store and move bricks around the site were also in poor condition.

'A tragic accident'

HSE principal inspector Neil Jamieson said: “This was a tragic accident which could have been prevented had the company ensured that materials on the site were stored and stacked safely.”

Edgemere Projects Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) & 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £97,500 with £300,000 costs.

Lessons learned

A spokesperson for Edgemere Projects Limited said: “We deeply regret this tragic accident.

“Words cannot express how sorry we are for the distress caused to Andrew’s family and friends.

“Edgemere takes health and safety very seriously.

“We must, however, accept the judge’s findings, we failed to keep Andrew safe.

“This has been an incredibly long process for all involved, yet we hope that some good will come out of it.

“Lessons have been learned by Edgemere and we hope that these can be shared with the rest of the construction industry to avoid such a tragic accident happening again.

“Our thoughts however remain with Andrew’s family and friends.”