Probe into death of lift engineer Stephen Loake at Pentonville Prison

Published: 15 October, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

AN investigation has been launched into the death of a service engineer who was electrocuted as he worked on a faulty lift at Pentonville Prison.

Stephen Loake, 53, who worked for Thyssen Krupp, was found unconscious on top of the broken lift he was repairing at the prison in ­Caledonian Road, Holloway, last Tuesday.

First-aiders from the prison’s gym provided immediate medical assistance but Mr Loake, of Scholefield Road, Archway, was already dead when paramedics arrived.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died from electrocution.

Police have ruled out foul play but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investig­ating the circumstances surrounding the death.

Evidence at his inquest on Tuesday, which was opened and adjourned at St Pancras Coroner’s Court, revealed Mr Loake had visited the prison a number of times previously and had security clearance.

He was escorted through the prison but as he worked inside the lift, his escort waited outside and did not have any contact with him. 

Nicholas Walmsley, assistant prison governor at Pentonville, said he was the first person to be called after Mr Loake was found unconscious.

“I was nearby in the chapel and took over the incident,” he said. “He was first attended by a team of first-aiders, and as we were attending to him the medical team arrived with a doctor and a paramedic. 

“He had been called as there was a fault on the lift and Mr Loake’s company was called in to fix it. He was the engineer that usually came to Pentonville. I had seen him around the place before. He was security vetted.”

DS Alan Thomas, of Islington Police, said: “As there is no criminal element to his death we are happy to hand investigations over to the Health and Safety Executive.”

The incident will be investigated under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

John Crooks, an investigator for the HSE, said: “This is what we would call a work-related death. Our investigation will establish who owns and operates the lift and whether there is regular maintenance. We will look at all aspects of the job Mr Loake was undertaking: what he was required to do, what training he had and whether there was anything intrinsically unsafe with the lift itself. 

“We will also be looking at the background story of his work and the arrangements for managing that work.”

Mr Crooks said HSE investigations were typically “long-running” and added that the report would not be completed until next summer at the earliest. An inquest is expected to take place before a jury next year.

A spokeswoman for Thyssen Krupp, Mr Loake’s employer, said: “It would be wrong for us to make any statement while the matter is under investigation by the HSE.”