Painter gets suspended sentence after stepson electrocuted on job

A sole trader received a 16-week suspended prison sentence after his stepson was fatally electrocuted while working on a domestic property in Chester.

Daniel Watton, 50, trading as Inside Out Painters and Decorators Property Maintenance, was sentenced at Warrington Magistrates' Court following the death of 24-year-old trainee painter Connor Lambert. The court also ordered Watton, of Bean Bank, Wollerton, Market Drayton, to pay £10,645 in costs.

Lambert, from Market Drayton, died on 29 July 2024 at a house in Farndon. He was moving a fully extended ladder with a colleague at the gable end of the property when it either came into contact with an overhead power line or came close enough for an electrical arc to form. His colleague suffered burns to his hands, feet and stomach. Lambert's partner, Megan McCann, was 32 weeks pregnant with their first child at the time.

What did the HSE investigation find?

The Health and Safety Executive investigation identified multiple failures in how the job was organised:

• The work at height had not been properly planned, supervised or carried out safely.
• The selected equipment and methods of work were unsuitable for the task.
• The risks associated with working near overhead power lines had not been adequately assessed or controlled.

Watton pleaded guilty to breaching safety regulations.

'The very lives of those workers depend on these decisions'

HSE inspector Keeley Eves said: "Work at height and work near overhead power lines are both high-risk activities. Employers must ensure that suitable equipment is selected, risks are fully assessed, and workers are adequately trained and supervised."

She added: "The very lives of those workers depend on these decisions. Our thoughts remain with all of Connor's loved ones."

Family pays tribute

McCann described the aftermath of the death in a statement issued through the HSE. "Connor was amazing. He had the cheekiest grin and would light up any room he was in – he was so funny," she said.

"He was a caring person who always put everyone else first. He was very ambitious and he was an avid Arsenal fan. He went to loads of matches with my father and brother."

She said the couple had been trying for a family for three years and that Lambert was elated when they learned they were expecting a baby girl. "He never missed a midwife appointment," she said.

McCann recalled speaking to Lambert on the phone the morning he died, shortly after taking delivery of a moses basket. "But within minutes I got another phone call to say there had been accident and Connor was dead," she said.

"I never thought I would have buried the love of my life and then given birth to our daughter 23 days later."

She added: "I will never get over Connor's death – I still feel angry, numb and feel a massive part of my world has gone."

The case is the latest HSE prosecution to target small contractors over unplanned work at height near live overhead lines, a scenario the regulator treats as entirely preventable through equipment selection, risk assessment and supervision.