§ 5. Mr. THORNEasked the, Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received a report from his factory inspector in connection with the fatal accident to a youth employed by Messrs. Joseph Hampton, Limited, Nut and Bolt Manufacturers, Wednesbury, who were summoned for an alleged breach of the safety regulations at their factory; whether he can state the cause of death; and whether he intends taking any action in the matter?
The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Captain Crookshank)As my right hon. Friend stated in his reply to the hon. Member on the 29th May, legal proceedings were instituted by the Factory Department in respect of this accident, which was due to the youth being caught in unfenced overhead machinery, and I am now in formed that the firm have been convicted and fined £30.
§ 9. Mr. THORNEasked the Home Secretary whether he has received a report from his inspector in connection with an accident to two workmen who were buried in a trench on a building site in South View Drive, South Woodford, Essex; and whether the trench was properly timbered and the nature of the injuries sustained?
Captain CROOKSHANKI understand that a trench about five feet deep was being cut for drains when the sides collapsed over part of its length, and that of the two men in question one was un injured and the other is in hospital, the nature of the injuries not being yet precisely known. The work was outside the scope of the Factory Act and my right hon. Friend is not prepared to express any opinion as to the timbering.
§ Mr. THORNEIs the hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that if these trenches 2020 were properly timbered many of these accidents could be avoided; and is there any method of enforcing the proper timbering of such trenches?