David Bottomley and his son Clayton died when their work platform fell 14 storeys in May 2021
A construction supplier will appear in court after a dad and son fell from a city centre building. David Bottomley, 53, and his son Clayton, 17, died when their work platform fell 14 storeys at the Unity Building on Rumford Place in Liverpool’s city centre on May 19 2021.
The pair, from Castleford in West Yorkshire, had both been working on the exterior of the structure on the 21st floor. Witnesses described the moment their climbing work platform began to click “like a rollercoaster” before suddenly dropping to the seventh floor.
Mr Bottomley died at the scene while his son, an apprentice, was taken to Aintree University Hospital where he died of his injuries four days later. Adastra Access Limited will appear before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court for a one-day trial on Wednesday, August 27.
According to court documents, the company has been charged under section 6 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The particulars are “being the supplier of an article for use at work, namely a mast climbing work platform, [the company] discharged your duty to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that it was so designed and constructed that it would be safe and without risks to health at all times when it was being set, used, cleaned or maintained by a person at work”.
A five-day inquest held at Liverpool’s Gerard Majella courthouse in September 2024 concluded that the deaths of the two construction workers were accidental.
Mr Bottomley had been working on the Unity Building for 18 months as a sub-contractor for AAI Selby, a construction company contracted by site operators Laing O’Rourke. His son had been working onsite for six months as he completed his apprenticeship with his dad’s company.
The ECHO previously reported how Mr Bottomley was an experienced insulation contractor, while Clayton was a former rugby league prodigy who had played for Castleford Tigers. The dad and son were described as “peas in a pod” by family friends.
Mr Bottomley’s cause of death was recorded as “massive blunt force chest injuries”. His son died in the intensive care unit after suffering “severe, irreversible and unsurvivable brain damage”. He donated his heart, kidneys and liver.
Adastra Access previously described itself as “one of the UK’s largest suppliers and most reputable of mast climbing work platforms, suspended cradles and specialist access systems”.
However, trade media reported in June 2023 that the equipment supplier had collapsed, with administrators appointed and 38 jobs lost.
Join the Liverpool ECHO Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community to receive the latest news straight to your phone by clicking here.
