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Woman Suffers Serious Injuries Following Scaffold Collapse in Hampshire

23rd May 2023

A woman in Fareham has been seriously injured after scaffolding fell onto a street she was walking on whilst out shopping.

Image credit: David Peter Lynn via Daily Echo

The scaffolding collapsed during strong winds on West Street, Fareham in the early afternoon on Wednesday 12 April. The area, which was outside a Halifax bank, was cordoned off until it was cleared three hours later.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue service were on-scene to rescue the woman, who was trapped by the fallen scaffolding, before leaving her in the care of paramedics.

Hampshire police confirmed that the woman was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but no further updates have been given of the woman’s condition.

A thorough investigation will be carried out by the Health and Safety Executive to establish how the incident happened and whether there were any legislative breaches. A spokesperson confirmed that ‘it will not be possible to share any further information whilst this is in progress’.

Jamie Lyons, Scaffolding H&S Advisor at SIMIAN said:

“It’s often reported that high winds are the primary cause of overturning scaffolds. However, scaffolds that are constructed in accordance with the detailed industry standards that are available will almost always withstand the very worst of the British weather. The NASC publications TG4 and TG20:21 provide excellent advice and guidance on scaffold stability, and these are our ‘go to’ publications in that respect. 

We have no knowledge of the specifics of this case, but it remains a possibility that high winds in the area merely served to expose inadequacies in the way that the scaffold was constructed.”

SIMIAN’s scaffolding and construction consultancy services can go a long way to assist in the prevention of similar incidents. For advice on how we can assist with improving you safety performance, contact us via hello@simian-risk.com.