A devastated widow says her husband went to work as normal but tragically never returned after he accidentally cut through a substation wire. Gardener Blair Campbell, 35, was fatally electrocuted whilst pruning hedges in October 2022.
The dad of two was airlifted to hospital but tragically lost his life shortly after. An inquest last year, held at Cheshire Coroner’s Court, heard the pole with the wiring had been covered in thick ivy when Blair cut into it. The vegetation covered the warning signs completely, the jury heard, meaning Blair had no idea about the dangers.
The inquest also noted that prior to Blair’s death, several reports had been submitted regarding the need to remove the ivy, but these were not acted upon.
The heartbreaking incident occurred three years ago this week, and his grieving widow, Tina Blair, is now preparing to sue a utilities giant.
Tina claims she has yet to receive an apology or compensation from SP Energy Networks – a subsidiary of Scottish Power – who managed the station.
She says she will now start civil action against the company to get damages for the death of her husband who she shared two children with. She believes his death “could have been totoally avoided”.
She said: “There was not a lot we could do prior to the inquest. Because of the complexity of the case and involvement by HSE (the Health and Safety Executive) and the police, that delayed things and we had to wait two years for the inquest.
“My solicitors have been in touch since the inquest with Scottish Power sending paperwork, but basically there has been silence. As a result my solicitors have had to put the matter back into the courts.
“I believe that Scottish Power now has 28 days to respond after they were put on notice of our intentions. If that fails we will have to apply for a court date, which is unlikely to be before autumn next year. This would drag it out for another 12 months.
“The inquest was over three days with a jury and the conclusion was that they (the power company) ‘more than likely contributed to the death of Blair’ due to the lack of maintenance.
“His death could have been totally avoided.”
In the wake of this tragic event, SP Energy Networks, responsible for maintaining the substation, has since revised its health and safety policy.
There were three reports about the pole needing to be cleared of ivy – including one in August 2022 – and Blair died in October that year. A report in 2021 had said there was dense ivy vegetation and urgent action was required. All the hazard warning signs were not visible.
“It was an accident that could have been totally avoided if they had done their job. Three separate inspections were taken out of a three year period, all documented, all ignored. Yet on the afternoon of the accident they went and cleared the ivy from the pole. They have now completely removed the substation, it is no longer there.”
Blair had moved from New Zealand to the UK and set up his business, Blue Kiwi Gardens and Maintenance, in Mobberley, Cheshire, around 2020.
Tina works full time to support her two children says she wakes up everyday hoping it was all just a “terrible nightmareW”.
She says: “The situation is ongoing and it is really stressful. My son is six and my daughter is 10 and they are very much dependent on me.
“My parents live in Shropshire and Blair’s family are in New Zealand. I work for a dentist and I am fortunate to be in a job where there is some financial security. I am surrounded by an amazing network of friends and neighbours who help me with the kids.
“Blair was my soul mate. We met while I was in New Zealand and he decided to move to the UK to be with me. After that, we were inseparable and couldn’t wait to spend our future together.
“I’ll never forget the feeling when I was told that he had died. He’d gone off to work as normal and said it was only a half day so I didn’t expect it was a big job.
“To this day, I still wake up hoping that it’s all been a terrible nightmare.”