HORROR PLUNGE

47-year-old Sean Patrick Johnston of Toberdoney Road, Dervock, died after falling more than ten feet into more than ten feet of water as he worked at a wastewater treatment plant which was being installed in Portrush to help clean up bathing beaches.

An inquest jury in Coleraine on Monday, ruled Mr Johnston was carrying out a task alone which should have been done by three employees.

Whilst the jury said the exact cause of the accident was not known as there had been no direct witnesses, they ruled there were "defects in the system of working which contributed to the accident".

The jury ruled Mr Johnston was "one man doing a three man job" and said there were "unclear instructions" regarding the work he was involved in.

The jury further ruled there was "inadequate supervision" on the site of a pumping station at West Bay, Portrush, on the day Mr Johnston died on October 6, 2006.

The nine woman jury also ruled that Mr Johnston being a non-swimmer was relevant to the circumstances of his death.

Senior Coroner John Leckey, sitting at Coleraine Courthouse, passed on his sympathy to the family of Mr Johnston.

Mr Johnston's widow Evelyn told the Times afterwards: "Sean was a real family man and was very much liked in the community. He was a publican and owned a pub at Toberdoney Road in Dervock and also worked in the former Patrick McCann's bar before going on to work in the construction industry."

Her son Gareth said: "There was no nice way to finish this. It has been over three years and I'm glad to be putting a full stop at the end of the sentence and hopefully now we can try to move on."

John Graham Ltd was previously fined several thousand pounds at Antrim Crown Court after pleading guilty to charges brought against them by the Health & Safety Executive in connection with the case.

During the Inquest, Mr Leckey said: "You could imagine how frightening it would have been to fall ten feet down a hole and hit the water and I have no doubt there would have been some difficulty for even a strong swimmer."

He said the presence of builder's clothes would make it even more difficult to swim.

Nancy Henry from the Health & Safety Executive, said someone falling into the water in the tank may have had a chance of surviving if they had been able to swim as there was a ladder in the tank and also some scaffolding.

Mr Leckey said a jury was selected because Mr Johnston had died during an accident at work.

Mr Johnston had only started working as a driver of a telescopic handler on the construction site in Portrush on the week of his death.

He was employed by John Graham Ltd to help build a waste treatment plant for the Water Service to help improve the water quality at bathing beaches.

Mr Leckey said it was already established by a pathologist that Mr Johnston died as a result of drowning and he said the jury had to conclude whether or not there were any defects in the system of working which contributed to the accident.

The inquest heard no one witnessed Mr Johnston fall into the well as he was working alone moving steel mesh which formed temporary covering on the top of six metre high well which was around half full of water.

The inquest was told it was a job which should have been carried out by three people - one driving a telescopic handler and two others to guide the mesh.

Mr Leckey said the pathologist's report found the cause of death to be by fresh water drowning and although the deceased suffered chronic back pain there was nothing to say a medical catastrophe like a stroke or a heart attack caused him to fall.

He said there was little doubt Mr Johnston was alive when he hit the water and a number of small abrasions were consistent with grazing a rough surface as he fell.

No alcohol or drugs were detected in his body.

Amongst those giving evidence at the Inquest were James Smyth from Graham's, Graham's site engineer Jonathan McKay and construction workers Darren Donaghy and Andrew Parkhill. Another construction worker, Colin Meehan, who was listed as a witness, was not present.

Summing up for the jury, Mr Leckey said it was accepted by Mr McKay that it was his responsibility to make Mr Johnston au fait with working practices and that on the morning of the accident two members of the workforce had manually removed mess covers and they had done so without a third worker present as was the accepted practice.

Added Mr Leckey: "After lunch Mr McKay approached Mr Johnston and said he wanted the covers back over the well and that he would be assisted by two others and minutes later spoke to Mr Donaghy and Mr Meehan and said they were to assist Mr Johnston immediately and that as the weekend was approaching to tidy up the site.

"Mr Donaghy was unsure precisely what instructions were given to him. He and Mr Meehan went to another part of the site where a footpath was being constructed and from that part of the site they could not see the area where Mr Johnston was working putting the mesh in place.

"It is accepted by everyone that removing these covers and putting them back in place was a three man job and it should have been by a telehandler and two others but for whatever reason Mr Johnston decided to do this work himself.

"I do not know if he felt any concerns about being left on his own or if he tried to find two other people to assist him, not do we know how he fell into the hole but the mesh was unwieldy and heavy. You could easily become unbalanced or mesh could snag on your clothing and pull you into the well."

For a period on the afternoon of October 6, Mr Leckey said no one on the site was aware of where Mr Johnston was and it was thought he may have gone to another site and it was only later when it emerged he was seen working at the well that consideration was given that he may have been in the water.

The Coroner told the jury they could presume there was "nothing sinister" in relation to the death and that it was accidental.

During the Inquest police constable Wesley Hunter said when he arrived at the Portrush site at 5.31pm he was told Mr Johnston was missing and was presumed to be down a large water chamber and had not been seen since being told to carry out work at the top of the chamber.

The Inquest heard the Fire Service pumped out water and then a helmet and fluorescent jacket became noticeable and the Fire Service Rescue Unit was brought in to lift Mr Johnston's body out of the chamber and the operation was carried out in driving rain and high winds.

James Smith from Graham's said if he had seen Mr Johnston working at the top of the hole alone he would have stopped him as he would have considered it unsafe.

Mr Smyth said they do carry out risk assessments for planned works but described the task Mr Johnston was involved in as "unscheduled".He said it was not uncommon for plant drivers to move between sites and that is why Mr Johnston's absence was not initially noted.

Darren Donaghy said he was sub-contracted for the work and was not employed by Graham's.

He said he could not recall being asked to go with Mr Johnston to remove sheets of mesh but he added: "Jonathan told me to make sure everything on the site was safe and covered. He was going to the main works to get something."

Solicitor Stephen McCann, acting for Mrs Johnston, said there were three incidents on October 6 of procedures not being followed regarding the movements of the mesh including one occasion in the afternoon when it was placed over the hole before Mr Johnston's body was discovered.

Jonathan McKay, a site engineer with Graham's, said he gave a specific instruction for Mr Donaghy and Mr Meehan to assist Mr Johnston.

He accepted he did not mention the use of the telehandler but said it had been used for similar work before.

As Mr Johnston was employed as a full-time telehandler he assumed he would use it.

Coroner Mr Leckey said: "It would seem there must have been a breakdown of communications or at least a misunderstanding."

Mr McKay insisted he had instructed the two workers to assist Mr Johnston immediately.

He said he told Mr Johnston to carry out the work and that he would ask the other two men to help him.

Stephen McCann, reacting to information that another small gap on top of the underground tank was covered with a pallet, said that showed the approach to safety was "lacking".

At the end of the inquest a lawyer representing Graham's expressed his sympathy to Mr Johnston's family.