Dad and son died after platform plummeted 14 storeys in city centre

A dad and son died after the climbing platform they were stood on while working on a Liverpool city centre building suddenly collapsed, an inquest has heard. David Bottomley, 53, and his apprentice son Clayton, 17, were working on the Unity Building, at the corner of Chapel Street and Rumford Place, when the climbing platform plummeted at around 3.30pm on May 19, 2021. David died at the scene, while Clayton died in hospital four days later.

In court today, September 16, eyewitnesses described the horrific moment the platform at the 21st floor of the building suddenly plummeted 14 storeys onto the roof of the seventh floor.

Thomas Blanchfield, who was working in the tower on the business side of the building and witnessed the incident from a meeting room window, said: "I could see David trying to grab something. I could see Clayton moving, but I didn't know what he was doing. Then they both came away from the building and grabbed the railing, and both seemed to brace themselves."

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He said the platform, which was attached to a mast, began to click "like a rollercoaster" as it gradually dropped. He said: "There was about four to six clicks before it went into free-fall. The noise was like a Catherine wheel or a zip-wire as the basket was in free-fall."

Both men were seriously injured in the fall and David was pronounced dead at the scene an hour later, with his cause of death being "massive blunt force chest injuries". Clayton was taken to the intensive care unit at Aintree Hospital, where he died on May 23. A post-mortem found the teenager had suffered "severe, irreversible and unsurvivable brain damage", with his cause of death being a hypoxic brain injury, cardiac arrest, and multiple injuries.

Workmen at the scene told Merseyside Police that "the brakes had failed" on the platform, causing it to fall. David Bottomley, from West Yorkshire, had been working on the building for 18 months as a sub-contractor for AAI Selby, a construction company contracted by site operators Laing O'Rourke. Clayton had been working onsite for six months as he completed an apprenticeship with his dad's company.

Thomas Lowry, another eyewitness from the business side of the Unity Building, said: "The noise made me look out straight away, and I saw the platform suspended against the residential side of the building. The right hand side was about one foot lower than the left hand side. The noises coming from the platform I can only describe as similar to the noises you hear when you're on a rollercoaster. The noises you hear at the very top before you fall."

Shani Tatton witnessed the accident from her kitchen window on the residential side of the building during an online work meeting. She said: "I heard a loud noise. It sounded like something falling at high speed and crashing afterwards. I couldn't even describe the sound. It was like nothing I've ever heard before.

"When I got a chance to look, I looked out the window and saw all the flashing lights and the paramedics around the same two males I had seen earlier. It was then I knew what had happened. The two males were lying on the roof."

Following their tragic deaths David and Clayton were described as 'peas in a pod' by family friends. A note left near the scene of the industrial incident in 2021 read: "To Dave and Clayton, my old friend and his son, we never made that catch up drink and that I will always miss. Always a smile on your face. You both will be sorely missed, save a seat at the bar for me."

The inquest is expected to continue all week, with evidence from the Health and Safety Executive, site operators Laing O’Rourke, mast climbing work platform suppliers Adastra Access, and gearbox specialists Nord Gear Ltd.

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