§ 68. Mr. Thorneasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he can give the House any information in connection with a crane accident at Messrs. William Ralphs, metal brokers, Grey Mary Lane, Manchester; and whether he is aware that the cable of the crane which broke was defective?
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sir John Simon)This accident, in which one man was injured, was due to the collapse of a hand crane. The crane's mast which was a wooden structure was embedded in a cast iron socket and it seems that the wood at the foot of the mast, below the socket, was rotten. This, and not any defect in a cable, was the cause of the accident.