The fatal electrocution of a seven-year-old boy “probably wouldn’t have happened” if garden lights at a Harold Wood pub had been installed correctly, a court heard today.
Colin Naylor, a 73-year-old electrician from Rayleigh, Essex, has denied manslaughter by gross negligence after Harvey Tyrrell died at the King Harold on September 11, 2018.
He had been playing in the beer garden when he sat on a garden light - installed earlier that summer by Mr Naylor - while holding on to a nearby metal railing, causing electricity to flow through his body.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specialist electrical inspector Steve Mason told jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court that a lack of “earthing” during the garden lights' installation caused the tragedy.
“In my view, if earthing had been correctly in place, the incident may never have happened or probably wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
“Your body is becoming part of the circuit and is a conductor. In a circuit such as this … the voltage difference causes the current to flow through somebody touching both parts.
“The body is resistant but you only need a low current to cause injury and, unfortunately, death.”
An earthing system connects parts of an electric power system with the ground, typically the Earth's conductive surface, for safety purposes.
Extracts from a report, carried out by fellow HSE investigator Ian Truckle, were read out to court, revealing the extent of the failings during the lights' installation in June 2018.
The report said: “In my opinion, had the external lights been installed satisfactorily … and there was no earth connection between DB1A [a distribution box in the pub] and the incoming supply main earth terminal then the external garden lighting circuit would not have operated under earth fault conditions.”
Insulation resistance in the garden lights circuit was also found to be unsatisfactory due to “the electrical connections to each light fitting being not sufficiently protected to prevent the ingress of water to the connections”.
Mr Truckle concluded: “It appears that Harvey Tyrrell received a fatal electric shock when sitting on a garden light fitting while simultaneously touching the adjacent metal railings."
Mr Mason told the court he agreed with Mr Truckle’s findings.
However, Mr Naylor described the suggestion that water could have entered the light fittings as “bollocks” and that his installation had been “first class", the court heard.
In a police interview, the defendant said: “Before anything else happened, the installation was first class. Anything that happened after - I’m not talking bollocks - but after I left, I don’t think I’m responsible for.”
He went on: “I think water ingress is bollocks in a word. I think it’s a no-no.”
The court also heard how Mr Naylor had been concerned enough to “raise his eyebrows” when he saw the cellar electrical distribution box, referred to as DB1A.
“I didn’t really want to get involved in that side of it,” he said. “I could see problems because of the surrounding area and cable into it, it was just not tidy and the amount of stuff being fed from it.
“If you went to your house and saw that you would have something done about it, I would have thought."
He added: “I just looked at it and raised my eyebrows.”
However, he told police that he didn’t think it was dangerous. He added it was a “grey area” as to whether he should have checked if the pub’s electrics were safe and earthed.
Although the defendant has worked in electrics for around 50 years, he admitted to police that this was the first time he had installed a garden lights circuit or worked in a pub or similar environment.
He also said that neither the pub’s landlord at the time, David Bearman, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, or its joint-managers checked his work.
Mr Bearman, of Ardleigh Road, Romford, has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence, as well as stealing electricity through the unmetered supply. He will be sentenced in due course.
The trial resumed today after a delay in evidence since Friday, due to the absence of a juror, who has now been discharged for personal reasons.
The trial continues with 10 remaining jurors.
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