A NORTH Yorkshire firm has been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £180,000 in legal costs following a road worker’s motorway death.

Birse Civils Ltd, of Tadcaster, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the death of Cecil Grant, 42.

Mr Grant, from Bristol, was repairing CCTV cameras on the M5 in Avon in January 2006, when he fell from a wall into bushes. He died in hospital ten days later.

The HSE prosecuted Birse Civils, the principal contractor, and also Mr Grant’s employers, Serco Ltd, for failing to protect him.

Bristol Crown Court heard Serco did not plan, manage and monitor the work properly, meaning Mr Grant was not warned about the drop, and that both companies failed to co-operate with each other to make sure workers were not put in danger. Birse Civils pleaded guilty to breaching the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.

Serco was also being fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £36,186 in costs after admitting breaching the same laws and also the Work at Height Regulations.