Scaffolding firm fined over four-year-old's death

12:57pm Thursday 14th June 2007

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A heartbroken mum has spoken of her six years of pain after her daughter was crushed to death when scaffolding collapsed.

Speaking after the sentencing of Croydon-based Tone Scaffolding Services and scaffolder Stephen Armstrong, Debbie Ladjouzi said she was glad they had admitted they were at fault.

"Nothing I can do now or say can bring Yasmin back."

Judge Simon Pratt

But Ms Ladjouzi, formerly of Magpie Hall Lane, Bromley, says she will never be able to close the matter.

The 38-year-old, who now lives on the east coast, comes back to the borough several times a year to grieve and tend her daughter Yasmin's grave.

Yasmin, who was due to start at Princes Plain Primary School in September 2001 died on August 11 that year.

She was killed instantly after scaffolding outside a block of flats in Cobham Close, Bromley, collapsed on her as she was playing outside the building.

It had been put up by qualified scaffolder Armstrong while working for Tone but it had not been secured to the building properly.

Shortly after the scaffolders left the site, local youths used the scaffold, and a rope attached to it, as a climbing frame.

This caused it to collapse on four-year-old Yasmin.

Ms Lajdouzi saw the accident from her back door and has tried to kill herself twice since it happened.

She said: "I'm glad that they admitted it and that they had a guilty plea.

"Two of my other children are in care because of this and I have had a nervous breakdown.

"My life is just a mess."

Tone Scaffolding and 41-year-old Armstrong, from Luton, both pleaded guilty to contravening health and safety regulations.

Sentencing them at Croydon Crown Court, Judge Simon Pratt said: "Nothing I can do now or say can bring Yasmin back.

"Let no one think that any kind of price is being put on a child's life, this case goes no further than the breach of health and safety regulations."

Tone Scaffolding Services were fined £35,000 for contravening section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (the HSW Act), with costs of £20,000.

Armstrong was fined £5,000 for contravening section 7 of the HSW Act, with costs of £7,500.