Firm fined £200k over 'preventable tragedy' that killed father and son

A wife and mother says she has "never been the same person" after losing both her husband and son in a fall from a building site in Liverpool.

- by Harriet Sutton

David Bottomley, 53, and his 17-year-old son, Clayton, from Castleford, were working together on the exterior façade of Unity Building in Liverpool when the platform failed on May 19, 2021.

They were working on the 21st floor, around 30 metres high, when witnesses heard a loud whistling noise before seeing the platform falling to the ground at speed.

David died at the scene from massive blunt force chest injuries.

Clayton died three days later in hospital from multiple injuries sustained in the fall.

A Health and safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the mast climbing work platform (MCWP), supplied by Adastra Access Ltd, had been on the site sine 2019.

The platform was manufactured in China.