A construction boss has been jailed for a year for gross negligence over the death of a lawyer crushed by half-tonne windows.

Amanda Telfer, 43, was killed when the stack of large unglazed frames collapsed on her as she walked past a building site in Hanover Square, central London. Members of the public rushed to help, but Telfer could not be saved and she was pronounced dead at the scene just before noon on 30 August 2012.

A jury found the supervisor at IS Europe Ltd, Kelvin Adsett, 64, of Slough, Berkshire, guilty of manslaughter and breaching health and safety. It was said on his behalf that his life was destroyed as the result of “an aberration of carelessness”.

Sentencing him to 12 months in prison, Judge Peter Rook QC told him: “Your actions contributed to the wholly needless and untimely death of Amanda Telfer.” The judge said he had shown “reckless disregard” for what was a life-threatening situation.

Westgreen Construction Limited site manager Damian Lakin-Hall, 50, of Cobham, Surrey, was convicted of failing to take reasonable care of safety while at work.

Rook sentenced him to six months’ jail, suspended for two years.



IS Europe Ltd, of Slough, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of two health and safety breaches. The company was described by the judge as the “alter ego” of Adsett. The court heard it was now dormant due to Adsett’s ill health and had just £250 in the bank.

The judge said: “There would have been a fine of £100,000. However, given ISE’s limited assets, the only fine I can order is £250.”



Costs of £100,000 will be split between the three defendants, with insurance covering the firm’s share.



In a victim impact statement, Telfer’s father, Barry, told how he was still coming to terms with the death of his daughter, who had previously worked for human rights charity Reprieve.



He said he and his wife Ann last saw her on the morning of the tragedy. He said: “She was cheerful, making plans and looking forward. An hour later she was dead.”

Mr Telfer added: “Every parent who has lost a child through violent and sudden death will know the overwhelming shock and disbelief that is impossible to describe.”



The court had heard how the frames, which together weighed 655kg, had been left leaning against a wall after being delivered the previous day, before the site was ready for their installation.



Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said it was “obvious to anyone” they carried a “clear and serious risk of death” to anyone walking past.



The frames were seen to move in the wind, prompting concern from the public that they might fall into the busy central London street. Another member of the public had almost been hit in a “near-miss” at the site just days before the fatal accident, the court heard.

Atkinson said: “There were a series of obvious and, in many cases, straightforward steps that could have been taken to avoid that risk – ranging from cancellation, delay, refusal of delivery on the one hand, to the storage, the use of straps and barriers. None were taken by any of the defendants and Amanda Telfer died as a result.”

Telfer was working as a freelance intellectual property and media lawyer for publishing houses including Random House.



Earlier, her parents, who sat through the six-week long trial, had said: “Amanda was a bright, lovely professional woman living her life to the full and making plans for the future. Her future was taken from her when she was crushed to death by half-tonne window frames which took two seconds to fall on her.

“If construction companies and the people who work for them are not held to account for such high levels of negligence and incompetence, then none of us is safe walking the streets next to construction sites. The health and safety training being given is totally inadequate, if risk of death to passersby is ignored.”

Graham Partridge, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “If Kelvin Adsett, Damian Lakin-Hall and IS Europe had complied with their legal responsibilities, Amanda Telfer would not have died. They were delivering and storing large, very heavy window frames and should have known that, unsecured, they presented a serious danger to the public on what was a windy day.

“The CPS case was that the defendants’ conduct was so bad that those involved bore criminal responsibility for Ms Telfer’s tragic death. We hope that these convictions will bring some sense of justice for her family.”