Sheriff rules death of boy who fell into manhole 'avoidable'

Inquiry after Shea, 10, died at a construction site

- By Connor Gordon

THE death of a young boy who fell down an open manhole at a construction site could have been avoided, a sheriff has determined.

Shea Ryan was able to bypass insecure fencing at the site situated 60 metres from a children's play park.

The tragedy happened in north Glasgow more than five years ago. The ten-year-old sat on the open manhole which had a drop of 6.3 metres and was overheard saying that he wanted to “go down.”

As he attempted to do this, Shea slipped from a ladder at the entrance of the manhole to the water below. He was later found cold to the touch with severe head injuries and was not breathing.

Contractors, RJ McLeod were fined £860,000 in April 2023 after pleading guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to failing to implement safety measures.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into Shea’s death has now taken place at the same court.

Sheriff Stuart Reid determined that there were five reasonable precautions which could have been taken which realistically could have prevented the fatality.