A firm whose failure to implement safety measures which led to the death of a schoolboy has been fined \u00a3800,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shea Ryan, 10, entered a construction site in Drumchapel, Glasgow, with other children through an insecure fence in July 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He told his friends he wanted to climb down the manhole, but he slipped on a ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday contractor RJ McLeod admitted breaching health and safety laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alongside the fine, the company will also need to pay a victim surcharge of \u00a360,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheriff Matthew Jackson KC said the punishment wouldn’t “replace the terrible loss of Shea’s life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the headline figure for a fine was \u00a31.5m but added that this was reduced due to mitigating factors, including the timing of the company’s plea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheriff Jackson said: “Nothing this court can do can bring Shea back who was a wonderful, son and friend as well as a loss to his family, school and all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What this court can do is select an appropriate sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Everyone can learn from this dreadful mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is a fine which will remind the company’s shareholders and directors of the gravity of this offence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prosecutor Saud Ul-Hassan previously told Glasgow Sheriff Court the building site was close to a play park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was secured by a single fence which had been vandalised in the past and breached on six occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court was told that Shea discovered the manhole, and told his friends: “I want to go down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prosecutor said: “Shea began to climb down the ladder where he slipped and fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“From the position of the ladder, he fell to the water below.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The distance between the ladder and the bottom of the manhole was 6.3 metres (20ft).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court heard that it was Shea’s friends who raised the alarm, alerting his stepfather Graham Patterson, who entered the manhole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police were called and officers found Shea lying on his back with Mr Patterson and a neighbour beside him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His cause of death was noted as “head injury and drowning.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shea’s mother Joanne Ferguson, who wore a t-shirt with her son’s face on it in court, said she hoped lessons would be learned from the tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“My son is not here and that destroys me every day,” she said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That totally avoidable accident has ruined my life and my kids’ lives – I don’t even feel human anymore at times because of the grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I just hope this makes them consider site safety everywhere – not just for RJ McLeod but for companies everywhere because the safety of these places is so important.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added: “Wee Shea is missed every second of every day and his family and friends will always love and miss him.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fatal accident inquiry into Shea’s death will take place at a later date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A firm whose failure to implement safety measures which led to the death of a schoolboy has been fined \u00a3800,000. Shea Ryan, 10, entered a construction site in Drumchapel, Glasgow, with other children through an insecure fence in July 2020. He told his friends he wanted to climb down the manhole, but he slipped on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scottish-news","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n