03.05.2013

Portobello Death Wish

Spotted by an Australian reader visiting the UK, a photo of two men working in Portobello Road, London with a complete disregard for their own safety and those passing below.

One of the men has clearly used the poorly placed ladder to climb onto a small ledge and position himself against the balcony, directly above a shop entrance, in order to remove the wall fixing using a power drill. In the words of our reader: “The markets were very busy, but that didn’t stop these two individuals working up a ladder with a hammer drill. Not only were they using dangerous ladder techniques, I was also surprised to see that they had no barriers etc. out to warn the pedestrians passing below of their presence.”
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Oblivious to the obvious risks whilst working on the crowded street of Portobello Road

Portobello Road is home to one of the largest antique markets in the world but even so it is no excuse to use such an ancient method of working at height… Another for our Death Wish series.
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One slip and this joker would have fallen onto some innocent passer by

Vertikal Comment

This is almost as bad as it gets when it comes to working in a busy place. All it would have taken is for the drill to slip and this joker would have fallen onto some innocent passer by below.

The ladder is poorly positioned and it is hard to imagine that this work could not have waited until later in the evening or first thing in the morning. The shop is clearly identifiable… perhaps a visit from the HSE would be in order?