Lawford Kidd's Blog

Europe’s largest organisation of engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), says the loss of focus brought about by the removal of road safety targets could lead to more road traffic accidents in different parts of the country.

Targets set in 2000 by the government led directly to a fall in road deaths of almost 50% due to the impetus this forced on local authorities to create road safety partnerships.

The warning is sounded as the professional engineering body submits evidence to the Transport Select Committee, which is investigating the impact of the Government’s Strategic Framework for Road Safety. The Framework, published by the Department for Transport earlier in the year, shifted from the former targets based programme, to an outcomes framework. Evidence shows that long-term targets would help local authorities to reduce deaths and serious injuries on UK roads.

Two roofers have received suspended sentences after a Derbyshire office worker was injured when a roll of roofing felt crashed through the ceiling of her office.

The woman was sitting at her desk when the metre-long, 37kg roll fell through a roof light and came through the ceiling, hitting her on the shoulder.

She was taken to hospital with injuries to her head, shoulder and left arm and was off work for two weeks following the incident in September 2010.

Following today’s determination by Lord Brailsford at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Mr Phee said: “I am delighted at the judgment and relieved that the court case is over.

“No-one expects to lose an eye when they go to play golf and adjusting to partially losing my sight has been a harrowing experience. I now just want to move on with my life.

“I would like to thank my legal team for their support and consideration throughout this long and distressing ordeal.”

New figures have shown that the ongoing trend for falls in the number of people injured and made unwell at work has continued.

A building contractor has been sentenced after its workers were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos fibres during refurbishment work at premises in Wales.