BRICKLAYER-TURNED INVENTOR TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE

A TEESSIDE bricklayer turned inventor transformed his life after nearly losing his home and family in the wake of a devastating injury.

- By LORNA HUGHES

Carl Harris suffered the debilitating leg injury on site in 2018 after almost three decades in his trade.

It left him unable to work, with an addiction to painkillers and his mental health suffered - but after overcoming a torrid time in the aftermath of the accident he had a revolutionary idea.

Carl is now managing director of Harris Brick Safety Systems and inventor of The Brick Bud - a unique wall bracing safety system that boosts safety on building sites. His invention is going global and he has praised a scheme backing Teesside entrepreneurs for providing the crucial “turning point” for his venture to grow.

He said of the day his life changed: “The wind had picked up - I built the wall to the guidelines and braced it with timber, with methods which continue to this day, and started working on another part of the wall.

“Td left my trowel on the other side, went to go and get it and it came down. It pinned my left leg to the floor causing lifechanging injuries”

It was a tough journey for Carl over the course of the next two years, a time that saw him nearly lose his family, his home and his car.

In the aftermath, he said he “was addicted to painkillers; adding: “I did try to go back into the bricklaying game, but I lasted about a week - I had to think about changing my career.”

Now 49, Carl went to Brackenhoe School in Middlesbrough, leaving in 1991. He learned bricklaying as a trade, serving his apprenticeship and then working in the trade for 27 years, working his way up to senior site manager.

He recalled: “The health and safety has moved on. Years ago, we were allowed to start a Stihl saw with no water suppression or masks on. It's changed a hell of a lot.”