July 10, 2026 - 138 views
A property management company has been fined £50,000 and its managing director has been given a suspended prison sentence following the death of an 18-year-old apprentice who was fatally crushed while working alone at a renovation site in Bangor.
Chloe Bidwell, a joiner apprentice employed by Varcity Living Limited, died on 20 December 2023 while working at a property on Deiniol Road. The building was undergoing a full renovation when a stack of unsecured wooden boards toppled, causing fatal injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Chloe had been working alone when the incident happened. After she failed to respond to messages or return home, she was later found dead at the property.
Investigators believe Chloe had been attempting to retrieve a plywood sheet from a stack of 28 large boards, some weighing up to 30kg, which had been stored upright against a wall without being secured. The falling boards crushed her neck, causing fatal injuries.
The HSE found Varcity Living Limited had failed to provide safe systems of work, adequate supervision, training and risk assessments. There was also no lone working policy, no safe storage procedure for board materials and inadequate site supervision.
The investigation concluded these failings were attributable to the neglect of the company’s director, David Horrocks.
At Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (July 9), Varcity Living Limited, of High Street, Bangor, admitted breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £10,080 in costs.
Horrocks, of Y Felinheli, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the same Act. He was sentenced to 26 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £7,886 in costs.
In a statement, Chloe’s mother, Clare Stephenson-Brown, described her daughter as “full of life, energy and determination”.
“Chloe was only 18,” she said. “She had so many talents and dreams: a skilled joiner, a rugby player, a surfer, a skydiver, and a young woman who was about to travel the world and begin her journey towards becoming a firefighter. She was wise beyond her years, brave and incredibly grounded.”
She said the family continued to struggle with the knowledge that Chloe died alone.
“The fact that she was by herself in those final moments is something that causes us unbearable pain and something we will carry forever,” she said.
Mrs Stephenson-Brown said the family believed Chloe had been “let down at work” and urged employers to treat workplace safety as more than a box-ticking exercise.
“We hope this case is a stark reminder of the real human cost behind it. Safety must be meaningful in practice, ensuring risks are properly managed, lone working is safe, and that everyone who goes to work returns home.”
HSE inspector Rachael Newman said Chloe’s death was entirely preventable.
“Chloe Bidwell was a young apprentice joiner at the very beginning of her career. She had every right to expect that her employer would take the basic steps needed to keep her safe at work,” she said.
“The tragedy of Chloe’s death is made all the more jarring because it was so wholly avoidable. Apprentices should not be working alone on a construction site, and Chloe died in circumstances which should never have been able to happen.
“Her employer had no safe storage system in place for the dangerously heavy boards, which were stacked upright and completely unsecured. They had also failed to provide the necessary information, instruction, training and supervision for their young apprentice.”
The HSE said the case highlights the importance of safely storing construction materials, ensuring suitable risk assessments are carried out and providing appropriate supervision, particularly for young workers and apprentices. Guidance states boards should be stored flat on a level surface and never stacked upright without adequate support. Lone working arrangements should also include additional training, supervision and monitoring to ensure workers can return home safely.
