A fatal accident inquiry at the city’s Sheriff Court heard from his mother, Joanne Ferguson who claimed it had been ‘well known’ children had been able to venture onto the site.
She wanted to know why nothing had been done to stop them and wanted to know who had uncovered the manhole, when and why it had been left uncovered allowing her son to tumble down 20ft to his death.
I guess she didn't demand to know how her son got the idea trespass was A-OK because the finger of suspicion only pointed one way...
Graeme Clark, joint managing director at RJ McLeod, the principal contractor for the flood alleviation project, told the inquiry he had ‘no idea’ how the boy had been able to get onto the site and access the manhole.He told the inquiry that while there, he walked around to inspect the fencing and the only damage he could see had been caused by emergency vehicles coming in that morning.
Which presumably had the effect of covering up any point of entry...
Ms Gillespie pointed out he had said he had not known how Shea got into the site adding: ‘But immediately you thought you’d put extra fencing in the area next to the play park?’ The witness responded that the company had been aware of the play park when the original security plan was drawn up, and the firm ‘had a contractual obligation from Glasgow City Council not to fence it off’.
When he was asked why, he replied: ‘You’ll have to ask Glasgow City Council.’
Oh, if only we had journalists who did just that, instead of regurgitating court transcripts and calling it 'news'.
4 comments:
The death of any child is sad, but I can't help wondering how many distraught relatives are muttering the mantra, "Where there's a blame, there's a claim", while failing to realise that if they had instilled a sense of not climbing into fenced off buildng sites into their children, one particular child might still be alive.
Penseivat
If the boy's mother knew that children had gotten into the site, did she ever tell her son not to do so? If not, why not? It may be that not only the building company or the local authority accept some responsibility.
Pensrivat
It puzzles me how any of my generation, any at all, survived. Building sites and quarries and abandoned factories were never fenced off and made wonderful playgrounds. Educational too. Taught us how not to kill our selves.
"...but I can't help wondering how many distraught relatives are muttering the mantra, "Where there's a blame, there's a claim"..."
If this was Liverpool, 100% of them.
"... did she ever tell her son not to do so? If not, why not?"
A question that will, I guarantee, never be asked.
"It puzzles me how any of my generation, any at all, survived."
We had bloodcurdling talks at school about the dangers of railway lines and electricity pylons - would probably be considered far too 'triggering' for today's cosseted snowflakes.
Post a Comment