The widow of a man who died in a scaffolding accident told a court this week: ‘I feel robbed of the life that I had and was going to have.’

Alison Skelding’s statement was read out in the Court of General Gaol as Gary Skelding’s employer was sentenced.

The incident occurred on August 4, 2020, where Mr Skelding was killed after scaffolding collapsed at the site in King William’s College.

Site foreman Stephen Ian Phillips of Kitterland Lane, aged 37, was handed a 12-month suspended sentence by Deemster Kainth.

In the same hearing, his employer, Stewart Clague Services Ltd, was fined £200,000 to be paid within three months.

In the trial, which ended October 7, Mr Phillips was found not guilty for manslaughter, but guilty for failing to take reasonable care of the health and safety of himself and others.

SCS Ltd had pleaded guilty for health and safety offences.

Deemster Kainth said that on the day of the incident, there were two options open to Mr Phillips regarding the transfer of fireboard planks.

He said that the agreed system was through the telehandler, a machine used to reach heights, which should have been what was carried out. However he said that this should have never taken place on this day, when the wind was so strong.

The second option was using the scaffolding, which he said should never have been tried as it was a consequence of the fireboards that caused the collapse once placed on the structure.

He continued, saying that once the fireboards had been placed on the structure, Mr Phillips went to replace a part that had been missing on the scaffolding, Mr Skelding volunteered to assist and as a consequence he lost his life.

The court heard a moving impact statement from Alison Skelding, Gary Skelding’s widow.

She said: ‘No one expects their husband to go to work and not come home.

‘I feel lost. My whole life has been turned upside down.’

She said that following the death of her husband she left the island and moved home, selling the house they had bought, and leaving her teaching job that she loved.

Since moving she has not been able to find a teaching job, and has moved twice as she feels unsettled and without purpose.

She said: ‘I feel robbed of the life that I had and was going to have.’

She added: ‘The outcome of the case is irrelevant really, Stephen will have to live with the decisions he made on that day. The thing I can’t bear is was he scared? Was he in pain? Did he know he was going to die?

‘Gaz [Gary] didn’t deserve this and neither did I.’

While the defence advocate Steve Wood acknowledged that it was incomparable to the suffering of the family of Mr Skelding, he argued that the trial has had a significant impact on Mr Phillips and his family.

He said that due to Mr Phillips’ partner being on a teacher’s salary, she wouldn’t be able to pay off the mortgage and car payments on her own.

They also have two children, with the trial having a significant impact on the eldest child.

sentence

In his sentencing of Mr Phillips, Deemster Kainth said: ‘It doesn’t matter what sentence is imposed, no one can rewind the clock.’

He said that Mr Phillips should have pleaded guilty for the charge which was failing to take reasonable care of the health and safety of himself and others. Deemster Kainth said: ‘You had every opportunity to accept count 2 and you should have done.’

However, Deemster Kainth said that because of the impacts on family, both financially, and on the children, and as Mr Phillips had no past record of putting individuals in harm’s way, he was prepared to suspend the sentence.

For the financial penalty on Stewart Clague Services, Deemster Kainth said that it needed to have a significant impact on the company for it to feel the gravity of the case and to learn from its mistakes.

He took into account the turnover for SCS Ltd since 2019, with SCS having a turnover of just over £9 million last year.

As such he arrived at £200,000, which he said would have an ‘economic impact that would bring home to management their need to comply with health and safety.’

The defence asked for this to be paid over 12 months, but Deemster Kainth said that it must be paid over three months.