Council fined £100,000 for girl's railings death » Local Government » 24dash.com

Councils have been urged to review how they maintain railings and fences following the death of a 12-year-old girl in Derby.

Vicci Thomas died after a section of fence collapsed on her while she played with friends in a Derby park in May 2003.

Derby City Council was fined £42,000 on Friday and ordered to pay £58,000 costs after it admitted breaching health and safety laws by not ensuring the railings were maintained.

Speaking after the hearing at the city's crown court, Health and Safety Executive principal inspector Andrew Turner said: "This was a terrible accident which could have been easily avoided if the railings had been properly maintained and obvious faults had been repaired.

"Local authorities have a duty to ensure their property is safe and that includes railings around parks and gardens operated by the authority.

"This accident highlights the importance of maintenance. Simple, practical steps such as regular inspection of boundary fencing and walls would stop this kind of incident happening in future."

Vicci suffered head injuries when the old and rotten iron railings fell on top of her in Osmaston Park. An inquest ruled the death was accidental, but poor maintenance by the city council played a part.

The authority has removed the railings since the accident and replaced them with smaller fencing.

In a statement released after the court hearing, it said it "deeply regretted" the accident and sent its condolences to Vicci's family.

"We accept it was reasonable for us to have had the routine examinations in place, which was our reason for pleading guilty.

"We have been doing that since May 2003, however, to our knowledge, no other local authority inspected park boundaries at that time," a Derby City Council spokeswoman said.

The council said it was considering legal advice to appeal against the level of penalty it received. Speaking after the hearing, Vicci's family said it was "a shame" that it took her death for lessons to be learned.

Copyright Press Association 2007.