THE family of a young electrical engineer killed by a falling tree during a heavy storm in Co Armagh have said “the hurt and the pain and the loss we feel will never end”.
Matthew Campbell (24) was just about to leave Slieve Gullion Forest Park when a 200-year-old beech tree was blown over during Storm Ali in September 2018 and crushed him.
A council and construction company, who admitted health and safety failings following the death, were on Tuesday handed fines totalling £50,000.
While Newry, Mourne and Down District council were fined £20,000 at Newry Crown Court, Lagan Construction Ltd were fined £30,000 over the “freak accident” which “could have – and should have – been avoided.
Imposing the fines Judge Paul Ramsey KC quoted from a victim impact statement from his father where he described how “words can never describe the devastating effect Matthew’s sudden unnecessary death has had on his family.”
“He says that they all miss and think of him every second of every day. He was a wonderful son, whom we loved very much and still do,” the judge told the court.
“Matthew was a kind, generous, funny and loving young man who made us proud every day of his short life.
”Instead of Matthew bringing his children to visit his grandparents, we as Matthew’s family are going to the grave to grieve and visit him, or to Slieve Gullion Forest Park where he had his last living moment.
“The hurt and the pain and the loss we feel will never end.”
Judge Ramsey described how Matthew’s father was also “proud to say that following Matthew’s death, his family and friends completed the Mourne Wall Challenge and raised £27,000 for the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance in his son’s memory.”
A further £1,800 was raised for the Macmillan nurses.
Reading from the victim impact statement from Mr Campbell’s colleague/supervisor Steven McCauley, who also suffered horrific injuries in the incident, Judge Ramsey said he was struck by one passage in particular, which described the final moments before Mr Campbell’s death.
”The forestry vehicle left and we drove our vehicles and parked outside the gate. One forestry worker remained and closed the gate. He left a pedestrian access space for us at the gate side that was off its hinges. We could not leave straight away as we had a duty to make the site safe first.
“That’s why they went back into the park.”
At the time of the tragedy Mr Campbell had been working for Lagan Construction Ltd and as the park itself is owned and controlled by Newry, Mourne and Down Council, they both faced health safety charges.
Last December the council entered guilty pleas to failing to make appropriate risk assessments while on the day Lagan Construction was due to go on trial in January the company entered a guilty plea to the same charge.
Just the week before the tragedy Matthew and his fiancée Robyn Newberry had sent out ‘save the date’ cards in preparation for their wedding in August 2019 and on the day tragedy struck, she had collected the couple’s wedding rings.
During his sentencing remarks Judge Ramsey KC, said “I take the view that this monumental tragedy only happened because two independent culpabilities came together to create the situation that led to Matthew’s death.”
The court heard that at the time of Storm Ali, Newry and Mourne Council had no written policy in place regarding the opening of Slieve Gullion, or other facilities during severe weather.
As a result, some facilities in the district were closed but Slieve Gullion remained open.
Judge Ramsey continued:
“The decision was taken piecemeal, with parts of the Forest Park being closed, before a decision was taken to enclose the entire facility.”
After the decision had been taken attendants began to clear the park while Mr Campbell and his colleague at the water service facility were also told.
They were seen leaving in their vehicles but then re-entering the park on foot to make safe the kiosk they had been working on and it was shortly after this that the fatality occurred.
Lagan Construction admitted that the risk assessment undertaken was insufficient and it failed to take account of the fact the project was being undertaken in an area populated with mature trees in a forest park setting.
The court also heard that following a court hearing back in February, representatives from the Council, including the chief executive, met with Mr Campbell’s mother and father and offered a formal apology for the council’s failing, “which was warmly appreciated by the family”.
Speaking after the hearing, Katrina Murphy, a Health and Safety Executive NI inspector said: “This tragic incident needlessly claimed the life of a young man who was working in an area populated with mature trees during a severe weather event.
“It was also established that both employers were in receipt of Met Office weather warnings advising of a strengthening storm with the potential to cause danger to life.
“Weather warnings should always be considered. They are important and are designed to let people know what the impacts may be of severe weather, including strong winds.”