Police ScotlandThe death of a 10-year-old boy who fell down an open manhole at a construction site could have been avoided, a sheriff has determined.
Shéa Ryan died on 16 July 2020 when he climbed through an unsecured fence on a building site in Drumchapel, Glasgow, and fell 20ft (6.1 metres) down a manhole shaft.
Construction company RJ McLeod was fined £860,000 in April 2023 for failing to secure the site, where work had also been done by Amey Black & Veatch.
Sheriff Stuart Reid headed up a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) which found that there were five reasonable precautions that could have been taken by the two companies to prevent Shéa’s death.
Unlike a criminal trial, an FAI seeks to establish the facts surrounding the death and does not look to place blame.
The inquiry heard that Shéa entered the construction site with his friends and told them he wanted to climb down a manhole.
But he slipped from a ladder at the manhole entrance to the water below, and was later found unconscious with severe head injuries.
Amey Black & Veatch had transferred the site over to RJ McLeod two weeks before the incident.
Sheriff Reid said that poor cooperation and communication between the two companies contributed to the death.
Another contributing factor was that Amey Black & Veatch had removed a heavy bag of material from the manhole shortly before they left the site.
The sheriff also said that RJ McLeod failed to prevent unauthorised access to the manhole and failed to assess the risk of unauthorised people accessing the site.
There was also a lack of inspection and maintenance of the parameter fencing, and a failure to inspect the manhole at the end of the working day to make sure it was closed.
‘Catastrophic loss’
The sheriff made eight recommendations – seven of which were for the Health and Safety Executive to review existing procedures and to consider revising them.
These included a review of guidance to protect children, record incidents of perimeter breaches and prevent unauthorised access to incomplete manholes.
He recommended better cooperation and information sharing between principal contractors on incidents of unauthorised access and vandalism on site.
The building site was 197ft (60m) from a children’s playpark, which was considered a contributing factor in the death.
The sheriff recommended that Glasgow City Council and other local authorities should review their procedures when play parks are located near a construction site.
Procurator fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads on fatalities investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said the inquiry was launched after the circumstances of Shéa’s death caused “significant public concern”.
He said: “Shéa Ryan’s tragic death has been a catastrophic loss for his family.
“They have my deepest sympathy as they continue to deal with the pain they have suffered.”
Digby Brown, the solicitors who represented Shéa’s family, welcomed the recommendations but said the determination showed his death was an “avoidable tragedy”.
