A CONTRACTOR has today been fined �3,500 after a worker was buried alive in an excavation collapse.

A CONTRACTOR has today been fined �3,500 after a worker was buried alive in an excavation collapse.

Cambridgeshire groundwork contractor John Melvyn Hill was also ordered to pay costs of �2,000 at Cambridge Magistrates Court after breaching health and safety and construction regulations.

The 58-year-old, of Plantation Road, Sawston, was in charge of groundwork on a construction project on 22 October 2007, at Penny Farm, near Brinkley in East Cambridgeshire, when a trench collapsed on one of his employees.

Norman Macritchie, principle inspector for the Health and Safety Executive, said: “This worker suffered a broken leg and bruising, and was incredibly fortunate to survive the horror of being buried alive.

“These types of easily preventable incidents are all too common and often prove fatal, so it is absolutely essential that employers and contractors ensure they have measures in place to protect their staff.

“Groundworks can be extremely dangerous and companies must make sure excavations are properly supported to avoid serious injury, or even death.”