A construction company has been fined £600,000 after an employee was run over and killed by a dumper truck.

Edinburgh Sherriff Court heard on 1 February how Allenbuild Ltd had been the principal contractor on a construction site known as The Engine Yard in Edinburgh on 5 December 2016 when an agency labourer was run over and killed by a dumper truck driven by an employee of Crummock (Scotland) Ltd. 

An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive found Allenbuild had failed to organise the construction site in such a way to ensure that pedestrians were not carrying out work on or near traffic routes while vehicles were moving. It is thought the deceased was spray painting a piling marker in front of a dumper truck, when the truck moved forward and ran over him.

Allenbuild Ltd of Cheapside, London, was fined after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 27(1) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015.

Speaking after the hearing, inspector HSE Inspector Rob Hirst said: “This was a tragic and wholly avoidable incident that arose due to the company’s failure to ensure that pedestrians were not carrying out work on or near traffic routes while vehicles were in operation.”