Electrician, 73, cleared of manslaughter over death of seven-year-old boy

An electrician has been cleared of the manslaughter of a seven-year-old boy who was electrocuted by lights in a pub garden.

Colin Naylor, 73, was today found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of Harvey Tyrell at the King Harold Pub in Romford on 11 September 2018.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that Harvey had touched one of the garden lights and a metal railing at the same time, which created a circuit.

The jury was told he had been playing with another child, who left to get a packet of crisps and came back to find him unresponsive.

Mr Naylor, of Rayleigh, Essex, was found guilty of a separate charge of failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to take reasonable care to limit the risk or prevent the danger of serious injury or death.

His brother-in-law and the landlord of the pub, David Bearman, who is also an electrician, had already pleaded guilty to Harvey’s manslaughter.

Mr Naylor’s trial was told that he installed the lights in question in June 2018 and carried out various work at the premises over 48 days between 9 April and 27 June.

Jurors heard that the lights had “significant” defects, including a lack of insulation to stop water getting in and no earthing at the distribution board from which the circuit was powered.

But Mr Naylor told police in an interview that he thought his work was “first class”.

Prosecuting, Duncan Penny QC said: “When the Health and Safety Executive came to inspect Mr Bearman’s premises in September 2018, in the aftermath of these events, overall the premises were very dangerous indeed.”

An investigation into Harvey’s death found 12 defects at the pub which posed a risk of injury and 32 other potentially dangerous ones.

Mr Penny pointed out that during the inspection, one expert described the electrics as “the most dangerous thing I’ve ever seen in 40 years”.

And Kirsty Beard, who managed the pub, said the lights in the beer garden had been known to spark and did not have a proper switch.

But Mr Naylor said in response: “I never saw any evidence of any faults anywhere in that public house.”

An online crowdfunding campaign used to raise money for his funeral described Harvey as a “happy and healthy boy”.

The page reads: “Unfortunately, on the 11th September Harvey had a tragic accident & sadly passed away, leaving his mum, dad and family completely heartbroken.

“The paramedics tried to help resuscitate Harvey for over an hour but he had already been taken by the angels.”

Mr Naylor will be sentenced for his health and safety offence at a later date, along with his brother-in-law who also admitted illegally abstracting electricity from the pub.

Read Entire Article