We didn't know drop existed, say bosses of Bristol engineer in M5 fall

Bosses of an engineer who fell 16ft down an embankment on the M5 told an inquest they didn't know the steep drop existed.

Employees of subcontractor Serco told a jury they would not have sent Cecil Grant and his colleague Peter Wilson to replace a temporary CCTV camera in darkness at the top of Tickenham Hill had they been aware of the dangerous ledge.

An inquest at Flax Bourton has heard how Mr Grant, 42, who lived in Southmead, suffered a back injury in the January 2006 fall which led to his death in hospital 10 days later.

On Monday, the inquest heard that Mr Grant was not told to use a safety harness, the road wasn't properly lit for the work, there were no warning signs and the base of the camera post was overhanging the slope.

Yesterday, the inquest heard that in summer 2005, two Serco employees carried out a survey of the accident site on the northbound carriageway between junctions 19 (Portishead) and 20 (Clevedon) to make sure it was suitable for a camera base and was free of hazards.

But the jury heard that neither Edward McIntosh nor his colleague Gary Malin spotted the drop beyond the crash barrier on the edge of the hard shoulder.

The jury was told that when the survey was carried out, they drove past the camera site but did not get out of their vehicle to check it.

The inquest was told that Mr McIntosh and Mr Malin were still unaware of the drop when they replaced the camera in darkness two months before Mr Grant's fall.

Coroner Brian Whitehouse said this was something the jury "might find extraordinary". He asked Mr McIntosh: "Did you consider yourself fortunate not to fall down?"

"Very much so," Mr McIntosh replied. He added: "Had I seen the hazard I would have made a note of it and it would have been put on the drawings."

Ian Kendall, project and installations manager for Serco, said he was also unaware of the drop, which was on a split level section of the M5.

Mr Kendall said he had not been made aware of the dangerous drop at an induction given by Birse Civils, the main contractor carrying out roadworks on the M5.

Detective Inspector Ben Batley, who conducted an investigation into the accident, said documents revealed Serco employees attended traffic management meetings in September 2005 when the steep embankment was mentioned.

The inquest continues.