A BUILDER has been jailed for manslaughter after a 15-year-old labourer under his supervision was crushed to death by a wall in Hadley Wood.

Colin Holtom, 64, of Latchingdon, Essex, who traded as Maldon Groundworks, was sentenced to three years after pleading guilty to manslaughter and breaching health and safety rules following the death of Adam Gosling.

Contractor Darren Fowler, 47, from Upminster, was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for three months, for working while disqualified from being a company manager and failing to abide by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Adam was killed at around 11.30am on April 23 when he became trapped underneath a 22-foot long, seven-foot high wall while it was in the process of being demolished.

He was working as a casual labourer with his older brother at a house in Broadgates Avenue, but had been given no guidance or supervision.

When the wall began to lean into a neighbour's garden, Holtom apparently told Adam to push it back. But as he did so, the wall fell and pinned him against a concrete garage, causing fatal injuries.

Fowler was not present on the site at the time of the accident.

Tony O'Brien, national secretary of advocacy group Construction Safety Campaign (CSC), said the sentence should set an example for future health and safety violations.

"We must remember that Adam should not have been working there, that this incident was predictable and preventable, and that he can never be brought back," he said.

"There are very many more deaths at work that should result in a manslaughter trial, but they don't and this must now change.

"The guilty parties here were minnows in an industry where directors of big firms have evaded the full force of the law.

"There must be a change in the law to ensure all company directors who make decisions on operational health and safety can be personally held to account should anything go wrong.”

Simon Hester, investigating inspector from the Health and Safety Executive, said: “The management and set-up of this small construction project was appalling.

"Adam Gosling should never have been there at all as 15-year-olds have been banned from working on construction sites since 1920.

"There was a complete disregard for basic health and safety requirements – inadequate personal protective equipment, no risk assessments, no training and minimal supervision.

"We know there are many other sites with serious shortcomings, but it is the duty of the contactors and employers to ensure that basic health and safety requirements are followed.”