On the eve of Gate Safety Week—a campaign drawing public attention to unsafe gates—a company was fined half a million pounds after a man was killed by a gate in Wales.
Poorly fitted and maintained gates
The sentence was imposed on wholesale company A.F. Blakemore and Son Ltd on Friday, October 7, at Cardiff Crown Court. The company admitted a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974). Delivery driver Ronald Hayward died when he was pinned under a 300 kg (660 lb) steel gate that collapsed at their premises in Newport. The company admitted failing to ensure that the gates and gateposts were maintained and were in working order.
Gate Safety Week, starting October 10 and running until October 16, is being held to raise awareness of the dangers of poorly fitted and maintained gates. It is being organised by the DHF (Door & Hardware Federation), the powered gate industry body which is campaigning for higher standards of safety for automated gates and barriers. The DHF represents Britain’s leading manufacturers, suppliers, installers, and maintainers of powered automatic gates and gate automation equipment.