Falcon Crane Hire gets prohibition notice

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said on Friday it has served a prohibition notice on up to180 tower cranes after a collapse last week.

The HSE served a notice on Falcon Crane Hire after the company was involved in a second fatal incident in less than four months.

The notice requires the company to take any tower cranes in its fleet out of service that have not been examined by an independent competent person.

The HSE has not yet established the cause of either of the accidents involving Falcon, the first of which killed two in Battersea in September.

The second collapse occurred last week in Liverpool, killing a construction worker and seriously injuring another.

The executive said the move was a precaution and that Falcon Crane Hire has given its full cooperation, and will take the steps needed to comply with the notice.

The HSE said: “We are conscious of the severe disruption this will cause but we are sure that the industry will support our action in the interests of the safety of workers and the public.”