HSE to prosecute firm after death of Skelmersdale dad

Nov 22 2012 by Joe Thomas, Skelmersdale Advertiser

LEGAL action has been launched after the death of a father working on a building site.

Peter Winchurch, from Skelmersdale, died after falling 20 feet from a first floor extension.

Three years on from his tragic death the Health and Safety Executive has announced it will prosecute TRU Ltd for failing to ensure the safety of workers.

Former joiner Peter Winchurch was working on the extension on Bromilow Road when he fell from the structure on November 9, 2009.

After suffering severe head injuries doctors turned off his life support machine the following day.

A jury returned a narrative verdict at Mr Winchurch’s inquest earlier this year, deciding the 68-year-old died from head trauma sustained from an accident – and that the scaffolding he was working on was unsafe.

At the inquest Michael Hall, a friend of Mr Winchurch, paid tribute to the father, saying he was “a great fellow, funny, witty – he could tell you a joke.”

Now TRU Ltd, of Haydock Lane, Haydock, has been charged with breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. TRU Ltd is due to appear before Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court on Monday, November 26 for the first hearing in the case.