A construction company has been fined £1m after an employee was killed when he was struck by a reversing road-sweeper during road resurfacing works on Pemberton Road, North London
Robert Morris, 48, was working for Marlborough Highways Limited on Pemberton Road, Haringey, on 30 May 2022 when the incident occurred. A colleague operating the road-sweeper accidentally reversed into him, fatally injuring Mr Morris.
HSE investigation uncovers “inadequate and unsafe” traffic management
A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Metropolitan Police found that there was no segregation between vehicles and pedestrians on the site.
Investigators also discovered that no bankman was in place to guide reversing vehicles. The HSE said the site’s traffic management plan was inadequate, exposing workers and the public to the risk of serious injury or death.
The Met Police passed evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which led to a separate prosecution of the driver.
Driver handed suspended sentence
Jamie Smith was charged with causing death by careless driving under section 2B of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
He pleaded guilty and, in February 2024, was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court to six months in custody, suspended for two years. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Company fined £1m for health and safety breaches
At City of London Magistrates’ Court on 3 October 2025, Marlborough Highways Limited, of Woolf House, Eagle Way, Chelmsford, pleaded guilty to breaches of Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £1 million and ordered to pay £6,028 in prosecution costs.
Following the sentencing, Mr Morris’s family described him as “the centre of our world” and said the loss had left a lasting impact on all who knew him.
HSE principal inspector James Goldfinch said: “Our thoughts are with Robert’s family, described by his widow as ‘the centre of our world’. She says his children are ‘sad and angry and cheated of so much of their future’.
“Robert was entitled to return home safely from work to his family but the lack of segregation of vehicles and pedestrians by Marlborough Highways Limited meant he did not.
“This was a case where appropriate controls had been identified but were not being implemented on site.”
HSE urges better planning to prevent vehicle accidents
The HSE said most construction transport accidents are caused by poor segregation between people and moving vehicles — a hazard that can be avoided through effective planning and supervision.
It recommends that all contractors follow its detailed guidance in The Safe Use of Vehicles on Construction Sites, which sets out best practice for site layout, traffic management, and vehicle control.
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