Property firm and director sentenced after teenage apprentice killed in Bangor site collapse

A property management company and its managing director have been sentenced following the death of an 18-year-old apprentice who was crushed by a stack of unsecured boards at a renovation site in…

A property management company and its managing director have been sentenced following the death of an 18-year-old apprentice who was crushed by a stack of unsecured boards at a renovation site in Bangor. The case serves as a stark warning to UK employers about the consequences of failing to protect young and vulnerable workers.

Chloe Bidwell died on December 20, 2023, when 28 unsecured boards — each weighing up to 30kg — fell on her while she was working alone at the site. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the management of the site was chaotic, risk assessments were fundamentally inadequate, and there were no safe systems of work in place.

Chaotic site management and lack of supervision

The court heard that Varcity Living Ltd had no lone working policy and provided insufficient supervision for the apprentice. The teenager was left to work alone at the time of the fatal incident. Inspectors found that basic safety protocols that should have been routine were entirely absent.

The company had a history of safety issues, including a prior enforcement action taken by the HSE in 2018.

Penalties imposed

Varcity Living Ltd was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay costs of more than £10,000. David Horrocks, 45, the company's managing director, was handed a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £7,886 in costs.

The HSE emphasised that the employer had failed in its fundamental duty to protect a young worker through a lack of basic safety measures and oversight.

Wider safety enforcement across the sector

The sentencing comes amid a series of high-profile workplace safety prosecutions in the UK and Ireland. On July 6, 2026, Food Process Engineering Ltd was fined £50,000 after a worker was killed in a wall panel collapse in Renfrew in late 2022. Separately, Glenveagh Properties and KDK Scaffolding faced combined fines of €190,000 following a fatal accident at a residential construction site in County Wicklow.