Council ordered to pay £15k after boy receives electric shock at skate park

A local authority has been ordered to pay nearly £15,000 in fines and costs after a teenage boy suffered an electric shock at a skate park and had to have a finger amputated.

The incident took place at Newport International Sports Village on 31 December 2011. The 13-year-old boy went to turn on floodlights unaware the electrical cabinet had been vandalized, and received the shock.

The boy’s left index finger was amputated. He also needed a skin graft on his middle finger.

After an investigation discovered serious failings in the management of safety at the venue, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Newport City Council at Cwmbran Magistrates' Court.

The HSE found that the door of an electrical cabinet had been forced open and vandalised so that electrical parts at 240v were exposed.

A park ranger had identified that the cabinet was damaged on 23 December 2011, but no action was taken to repair it.

According to the HSE, there had been a history of the cabinet being forced open with vandalism occuring on three previous occasions.

The regulator argued before the court that Newport had failed to judge the risks properly and so control measures were not put in place, such as greater security measures for the cabinet or arranging for a residual-current device (RCD) to be fitted.

It also said that there should have been better supervision of the skate park and the electrical cabinet should have been marked to warn of the dangers.

The city council pleaded guilty to breaching s. 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £5,000. It was also ordered to pay costs of £9,477.

HSE Inspector Joanne Carter said: "It is disappointing that the health and safety management by the council didn't address the risks that manifested. They failed to put in systems to control the risk, did not communicate the risks to employees and did not inspect the cabinet. Nor did they improve the mechanical protection of the cabinet or mark it as being an electrical danger."