Human Fireball: Power giant admits it was to blame

Feb 1 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

Burns victim Peter Mason

A CONSTRUCTION worker on a Liverpool development was turned into a human fireball after he fell against a live cable that should have been disconnected five months earlier.

Peter Mason suffered serious burns in an explosion and his workmates did not believe he would survive after touching the 400 volt supply.

SP Power Systems, a subsidiary of Scottish Power, yesterday admitted they were warned about the live cable five months previously.

Simon Parrington, prosecuting at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Mason, was hit in the back and the left side of his head resulting in serious burns. The 28-year-old plasterer ran into the corridor and rolled onto the floor to extinguish the flames.

“This failed to put out the flames so he ran outside and jumped into a puddle,” Mr Parrington said. “He ran 40 metres from the place where he was hit to the point where he extinguished the flames.”

The Glasgow-based power company admitted breaching section three of the Health and Safety Act by failing to disconnect the supply.

Mr Mason, from Birkenhead, was working in a gang of three including Kieran Williams, 17, a plasterer from Crosby – all three were taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital with various degrees of burn injuries.

Mr Parrington explained that the incident had taken place at a large scale redevelopment on Liverpool’s Great George Street and Nelson Street on March, 2006, near Chinatown.

Despite several phone calls over several months, Mr Parrington said, nothing was done to disconnect the supply.

“SP said they needed to determine which company had responsibility for the cables in order to obtain permission to remove them.”

Mark Turner, QC, defending, said the company had left it up to the clients, in this case the developers, to solve the problem.

However, he argued a breakdown in communication had taken place, allowing the problem to go unresolved for an unacceptable length of time.

District judge Richard Clancy committed the case to Liverpool Crown Court for March 10.

richarddown