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Investigators could find ”no reason” for actions of deceased workman
The East Anglian Daily Times has reported on an inquest into the death of builder Paul Hamlyn who died in December 2007. The jury heard from a home owner who found Mr Hamlyn lying on the floor, face down, not moving with one hand under the sink and an electrical cable by his feet.
Insp Gary Chapman of Essex Police told the inquest that the wire was about 8ft in length and came from the utility room to the kitchen, and that the exposed wires were “quite close” to the victim’s side when he was discovered.
Workman not engaged for electrical work
Mr Hamlyn, a self-employed builder had been engaged to finish renovation work to a domestic property, including the construction of a stud wall around a toilet and the removal of a sink in the utility room. The homeowner said:
“We had the toilet macerator changed about six or eight weeks ago and the plumber had put it on a normal plug and not rewired it back into the fuse box.
Paul said he knew someone who could do any electrical work if it needed doing. I can’t think of any reason why he moved the wire. I think he was reaching up for his tool box.”
HSE Inspector Lesley Balkham, from the Health and Safety Executive, said that Mr Hamlyn had probably carried the live wire from the utility room to the kitchen and that she could find “no reason” for his actions.
A post-mortem at Colchester General Hospital concluded that the victim had died of electrocution.
Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray instructed the jury to record that Mr Hamlyn died as a result of an accident. In their statement the jury said: “Paul Hamlyn was electrocuted as a result of coming into contact with a live conductor.”