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Rotten balconies repaired after fall death

From the Preston Citizen, first published Thursday 8th Feb 2007.

Teams of council workers were sent to patch up rotten balcony rails, just hours after a fellow worker plunged to his death from a first floor flat.

Andrew Rae, 55, who had been a gas fitter with Preston City Council for six years, died after falling from the balcony of a flat on St Thomas's Street, off Moor Lane, at 10.35am last Wednesday, January 31. Police said Mr Rae, who was from Burnley, fell after leaning on wooden rails while carrying out repairs at one of the properties.

The flat is owned by the Community Gateway Association.

Within hours of the incident, city council maintenance teams who carry out repairs on behalf of Community Gateway were shoring up similar fences on the estate with large sheets of plywood and metal corner brackets.

Teams continued to work on the estate throughout Friday and Monday, with workers warning residents to stay away from the railings.

One man who lives on nearby Thorpe Close, said: "The wood on the railings is just plain rotten. Loads of people have complained about the state of them.

"You can just stick your finger into the wood and it starts to crumble in your hands."

Police have concluded their investigation into Mr Rae's death and said that the incident was now the subject of a detailed inquiry by the Health and Safety Executive.

A spokesman for Community Gateway Association said: "Until the investigations are concluded, it would not be appropriate for us to say any more about this very sad incident. All of us at the Community Gateway Association have been shocked and greatly saddened by Mr Rae's death. All our sympathy is with his family."

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