Painter electrocuted while on a job with stepdad

A painter and decorator was given a suspended prison sentence after his stepson was fatally electrocuted while working with him.

Connor Lambert, 24, died while moving a ladder close to overhead power lines in Farndon, Cheshire, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.

The trainee painter from Market Drayton in Shropshire had been moving the ladder close to the gable end of a house and it either came into contact with the cables or came very close, causing electricity to arc from the line.

Daniel Watton, 50, from Wollerton, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations by failing to properly plan for the work. He was given 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

Watton, who was trading as Inside Out Painters and Decorators Property Maintenance, had been working on the house with Lambert on 29 July 2024, the HSE said.

The investigation concluded the work had not been properly planned, supervised, or carried out safely.

It also found the equipment used and methods of work were unsuitable for the task and it identified issues with the training and competence of those carrying out the work.

Lambert had been expecting his first child with partner Megan McCann, who described him as having the "cheekiest grin" and being someone who loved family life.

He had been "over the moon" when they found out she was pregnant and never missed a midwife appointment, she said.

"We had been on the phone talking the morning he died – I had just taken delivery of a moses basket and I was heavily pregnant at 32 weeks.

"But within minutes I got another phone call to say there had been accident and Connor was dead."

His father, Craig West, said: "This experience has changed me, my emotions, my temperament and my outlook on life."

He added: "I have lost the spring in my step and no longer have the drive I once had and work now has become a chore."

Watton was ordered to pay £10,645 in costs at Warrington Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

HSE inspector Keeley Eves said: "This tragic incident meant a father never got to meet and hold his baby daughter.

"The fact it could and should have been prevented with proper planning and control measures, makes it all the more stark."

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