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Director fined after worker fractures bones in excavation collapse
Cristina Lago Deputy Editor
The three men were working in the excavation when it collapsed (Image: HSE)
A company and its director have been fined a combined £18,000 after a man was injured during excavation work in West Sussex.
The accident happened on 23 February 2023 during the installation of a septic tank that JHE Construction was carrying out as part of a full barn conversion at Lone Oak Farm.
Edward Keely, 30, and two other men had been tasked to dig an excavation approximately 3m deep for the tank installation.
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The three men were in the hole preparing to install a concrete base for the septic tank to sit on when the walls collapsed.
Keeley was struck by falling soil, resulting in multiple bone fractures. He had to be dug out.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that no precautions had been taken to prevent the collapse of the excavation, yet the men were expected to work in it.
The septic tank the excavation was being dug for (Image: HSE)
Excavation collapse was ‘easily foreseeable’
JHE Construction Ltd, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £2,612 in costs at Brighton Magistrates Court on 24 March 2025.
Jordan Hay-Ellis, 33, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.
After the hearing, HSE inspector Nathan Kent said: “The risk associated with excavation collapse is well understood within the construction industry and this incident was easily foreseeable.
“All excavation work should be supported or battered back. Failure to do so in this case resulted in a young man sustaining very serious injuries.
“HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all they can to keep people safe.”
The November/December 2025 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
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