Electric shock scaffolder 'couldn't pick up newborn'

A scaffolder has said he was unable to hold his newborn son for months due to injuries he sustained when he was electrocuted at work.

Steven Gilmore suffered an electric shock and fell from a height when he lifted a metal bar and touched an overhead cable at a site in Crawley, West Sussex, in November 2021.

He said most of his fingers had no feeling and would be amputated after he fell about 20ft (6m), was knocked out and seriously burned.

The 40-year-old from Ramsgate, Kent, said that when his youngest son was born he "couldn't pick him up for seven, eight months" as he had no feeling in his hands.

Gilmore, who has already lost one thumb, told the BBC: "It's been a stressful time, not just for me but for everyone around me and for everyone involved with me, my partner especially.

"You want to be able to pull your own weight and do your bit for the family, which I couldn't, and it's something I still struggle with now."

He said his recovery was difficult and "a long process" that was "still not at final stages".

Gilmore said he struggled with tasks like cooking, cutting food and tying shoelaces.

He said he was also unable to ride bikes or go in goal when playing football with his oldest son due to his injuries.

Gilmore received a civil payout from his employer following the incident.

The company was also fined and its director received a suspended sentence, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

Gilmore told the BBC that health and safety had "really hit home" since the incident and he felt "a lot more passionate about it now" than previously.

"I think there's a lot going on in the construction industry that could change," he said.

"No-one should go to work and then have the possibility of not going home to see their family."

Slater and Gordon senior associate Jamie Day, who represented Gilmore, said the case was a "how not to guide" for working near high voltage cables.

The scaffolding was "only a short distance away from the live power lines", he told the BBC, which was "an accident waiting to happen".

"In my experience, when you speak to people, and even witnesses, in these sorts of construction accidents generally, a lot of people who sign and look at documents don't really read or pay great attention to them," he said.

"This is the devastating, life-changing consequences that can happen if people aren't diligent."

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.