AN accident which could have led to the death of a truck driver and caused power cuts in parts of Settle has landed a construction company with a £3,000 fine.

The court heard how a driver attempting to tip 20 tonnes of stone in a quiet cul-de-sac accidentally hit overhead power cables which he had not been warned about.

After a lengthy trial, Skipton magistrates found Northamptonshire-based Pipeline Constructors Ltd (PLC) guilty of infringing health and safety law and also ordered it to pay £1,844 costs.

Giving evidence, lorry driver Craig Scott told how he was asked to deliver stone to High Hill Grove Street, Settle, and stopped at PLC's makeshift depot to ask for directions.

He was not warned about the power cables and hit them as the tipper body of the lorry lifted up to dump the stone early one October morning.

"The whole street went up in a flash of blue and there were sparks and wires flapping about," said Mr Scott, who received an electric shock and added that the first PLC employee he told about the accident said he was too busy to help.

Austin Hugheston-Roberts, for PLC, said Mr Scott had arrived nearly 90 minutes early, and had he been on time, there would have been a safety worker, known as a banksman, on site to guide him.

He also pointed out that there were yellow signs warning of overhead power lines.

Construction supervisor Damien Ireland, who gave Mr Scott directions to the tipping site, said he had not been aware of the overhead cables.

The truck driver should have stopped and waited for further instructions, according to PLC's safety officer William Standen, who admitted the power line problem had been highlighted in his safety report.

He added that letters had gone out to aggregate suppliers in 1995 warning them they should not tip without a banksman present.

Expert witness Stephen Frost, appearing for the Health and Safety Executive, said he did not recommend banksmen as a safety precaution because they could not give an accurate view on clearance of the body of a tipper wagon. He suggested "goal post" barriers should have been put up as a guide to truck drivers.

Summing up, Mr Hugheston-Roberts said PLC could not have foreseen what happened and had done everything it could.

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