Mansfield mum's tribute to 'one in a million' son as concrete firm fined over his death

Stewart Ramsay, aged 24, of Worcester Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, was working for Creagh Concrete Products at its Thurgarton Lane site in Hoveringham, near Southwell, when he suffered fatal head injuries on March 15, 2017.

The company has now been fined £1 million at Nottinghamshire Crown Court after admitting failing to ensure its employees carried out lifting operations safely and without training and information being in place.

Carol Hansford, Stewart’s mother, said: “I’ll never forget that day as long as I live. I got a knock at the door as his friends had come to tell me – I collapsed.

“It still doesn’t seem real – it’s like you’re watching a film and not at the end.

“All he did was go to work. Things like this shouldn’t happen – it destroys families forever.

“Nobody should have to go through what we have done these past six years.

"He was a one in a million son. I know a lot of people say that, but he really was out of this world. He was an amazing brother, grandson, uncle and nephew.

“The hundreds of friends that came to the crematorium showed how well liked and appreciated he was – it was unbelievable. He was just loving, caring, thoughtful and very funny.

“He was such a hardworking person, not only did he work at Creagh, he also working as a doorman on weekends.

On the day of the accident, Stewart was trying to fix a problem that happened as he and colleagues were using a metal grab to unload some trailers

The Health and Safety Executive said the metal grab should not have been in use.

Stewart’s head became trapped in the jaws of the grab after a rope connected to the locking lever snapped.

Even though the rope was tied in a double-knot, the locking mechanism released the jaws of the grab as Stewart pulled on it, causing fatal injuries.

An investigation by the HSE found CCP did not have a safe system of work for the use of the grab and had not carried out a risk assessment to identify risks for its use.

Both the grab and a forklift truck being used at the time were in poor condition and neither should have been in service.

CCP had failed to ensure the equipment had been maintained in an efficient state, efficient working order or in good repair.

CCP admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees.

The company was fined £1 million and ordered to pay costs of £47,521.08.

HSE inspector Amandip Dhanda said: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a young man.

“Stewart’s death could easily have been prevented if his employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved and put a safe system of work in place.

“The work equipment being used at the time of the incident should not have been in use, and the employer would have known this had they effectively followed their own health and safety systems.”

CCP has been approached for comment.