Sylvie Claire / January 22, 2021
The events occurred in 2018. Harvey Tyrrell, a young resident of Harold Wood in England, was electrocuted while climbing a garden wall at the King Harold Pub in Romford, East London, on September 11 of that year. He was pronounced dead in hospital about an hour later, the Sun reported.
The trial has begun. Colin Naylor, 73, who installed the light fixture in the pub, denies a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence before the Snaresbrook Court of Appeal. The experienced electrician also denies a second charge of breach of duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
David Bearman, owner of the King Harold Pub and brother-in-law of Colin Naylor, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Harvey
Basically, when young Harvey touched one of the lights in the garden while sitting on it and grabbed some nearby metal grills, it seems obvious that electricity then flowed through his body, causing fatal damage, said District Attorney Duncan Penny.
The jurors heard that Harvey had played in the pub garden with his friend, who could not be named because of his age, before the other child briefly fetched a bag of chips.
Harvey was sitting on one of the lamps in the garden and was clinging to the nearby railing with his hands, explained the prosecutor.
Harvey was not reacting by leaning back, head back, face up when a friend offered him chips, it was heard in court.
He then collapsed after about 30 seconds in front of another boy he was playing with, said Penny.
The lights had "significant defects, including insufficient insulation to prevent water from getting inside, he added.
A post-mortem investigation revealed 12 defects in the pub that posed a risk of injury, including electric shock, and 32 potentially dangerous defects.
Bearman had been warned of numerous electrical faults by agents of the London Borough of Havering in January 2009. No further investigation followed. Regulations were amended in 2013, requiring homeowners to arrange inspections.
The jury then learned that the pub owner had been blown through the cellar after touching a fuse box at the pub in the summer of 2018, which left him with a very large purple wound on his left arm.