Expert's tribute to electricity fault victim Simon Lines

A safety expert today paid tribute to the Shropshire man who was killed as he attempted to warn motorists about a potentially lethal live electricity cable.

Electrical specialist John Steed described Simon Lines as acting in an "honourable" way and said his death in Prees, near Whitchurch, nearly four years ago was a tragedy.

Energy company Scottish Power was yesterday fined £130,000 with another £48,000 costs for its part in the tragedy.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took action against Scottish Power after 20-year-old Mr Lines, from Prees, died in January 2007.

The energy provider was fined at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to contravening electricity at work regulations.

Mr Lines was killed after he went out on to Whitchurch Road in Prees to warn motorists that a power cable had sagged in high winds.

The cable was then struck by a passing van and fell onto the road, where a car drove over it, causing it to fly up into the air.

The cable then hit Mr Lines in the face, seriously injuring him.

He was taken to hospital but died eight days later from injuries caused by being struck by the cable, rather than by electric shock.

An HSE investigation into the incident showed the cable had been attached to a wooden block on the side of nearby Holly Farm House.

Mr Steed, an HSE specialist electrical inspector, said the block was found to be partially rotten and the deterioration led to the cable becoming detached.

Since the incident Scottish Power had removed this type of fixing arrangement from its network.

Mr Steed said: "Mr Lines was trying to make sure others weren't injured and in doing so, received injuries so severe they killed him.

"Those who knew him may take small comfort from the fact that he died while acting in such an honourable way, but the fact that it could have been prevented makes the death of such a young man even more tragic."

The court heard the failure to maintain the wooden block led to the cable anchors detaching from the building and set in motion the tragic chain of events.

A Scottish Power spokesman said: "The circumstances that led to this tragic incident were unforeseeable and our thoughts are with Mr Lines' family."

By Tom Johannsen