A MILLIONAIRE property developer and his foreman were warned their building site was dangerous a year before a carpenter’s fatal fall, a court heard.

A health and safety inspector turned up unannounced at Stanmer Park stables in September 2013 and found “extremely poor standards” for work being carried out at height, Lewes Crown Court was told yesterday.

Company director Mike Holland and his site foreman Grant Oakes were put on notice to make it a safer place to work.

But a year later carpenter David Clark died after falling from the first floor through an “open void” where a stairwell was due to be built.

Holland, 69, of King’s Road, Brighton, and Oakes, 46, of Elm Drive, Hove, are on trial accused of manslaughter by gross negligence, which they both deny.

Oakes also pleaded not guilty to failing to discharge his duty by not taking suitable measures to prevent anyone working at height from being injured.

Holland’s company Cherrywood Investments Limited was converting the building into eight homes. He employed Mr Clark and fellow carpenter Andrew Cooper, who had been recommended to carry out some of the work.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Denis Bodger raised concerns when he visited the west wing of the site. He issued six improvement and prohibition notices to Holland and Oakes, with one specifically about the first floor of the stable block.

He also warned the way in which the work was carried out meant people were in danger of falling through “unprotected openings in floors and risked serious personal injury”, prosecutor Thomas Kark told the court.

Oakes was also told to complete health and safety training, part of which focused on rules to protect those working at height.

“Substantial improvements” had been made by the time Mr Bodger reinspected the site two months later, the court heard. But in November he learned Oakes, who the court heard is dyslexic, had failed the training course exam.

In 2014, Mr Clark and Mr Cooper started work on the east wing. On September 30, Mr Clark fell 15ft on to a concrete floor. A scaffolding board he used to bridge the gap over another first floor stairway snapped beneath him.

The 55-year-old, of Dyke Road Avenue, Hove, was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition but died a month later.

Mr Kark said Holland and Oakes showed a “criminal lack of care” in failing to take steps to make sure necessary health and safety measures were in place for those working at the site. This left Mr Clark and others to work in “dangerous” conditions which they could have recognised and stopped, he added.

Holland and his company Cherrywood Investments have since admitted culpability for two other health and safety offences in the case, Mr Kark told jurors.

The businessman pleaded guilty to consenting to or conniving in a failure to discharge his duty attributable to neglect under health and safety laws. The company, now known as Threadneedle Estates, also admitted responsibility for failure to discharge a duty. The trial, expected to last four weeks, continues.

IT WAS HIS OWN FAULT, MILLIONAIRE TOLD POLICE

PROPERTY mogul Mike Holland blamed carpenter Dave Clark for his own death, jurors were told.

After being arrested he put the blame “squarely” on him when questioned by police, prosecutor Thomas Kark said.

The court heard Holland described the incident as “madness” adding it was “someone jumping up and doing something completely stupid that happened in a heartbeat, which is what did happen, with a plank being thrown across a void”.

Holland was “not obligated to become involved in health and safety training,” Mr Kark said. He told police he had not taken any courses and left other staff to handle that side of business. He said he was 68 and the chances of him going on a health and safety course were “zero”.

Jurors heard neither Holland or Oakes were on site when Mr Clark fell. Oakes had left that morning and Holland was in Spain.

Throughout the interviews there was “total failure” by Holland to grapple with his own responsibilities or those of his companies, Mr Kark said.

Simon Caplin, described as Holland’s right hand man, had no training in health and safety at a building site, the court heard.

He read warnings issued by health and safety inspectors a year earlier over the phone to Holland. The court heard he told Mr Caplin to ensure anything necessary was done to comply.

But then Mr Caplin claimed Holland later “refused” to look at warning notices, jurors heard. Holland claims Mr Caplin lied about this, the court heard.

When arrested, Oakes gave no comment during police interviews. Holland submitted a six-page statement before responding with no comment. In his second interview he blamed Mr Caplin, the court heard. But in another interview that day he said: “The person responsible for Dave Clark’s death is Dave Clark, it wasn’t Simon Caplin, it wasn’t Grant Oakes and it certainly wasn’t me.”

Mr Kark said: “The area in which Mr Clark was asked to work was extremely hazardous and Holland and Oakes failed to stop the work... despite the red warning light of the year before.”

He told the jury chartered civil engineer David Wonford inspected the site after the incident. He said: “In Mr Wondford’s view these were basic work at height issues and the work was not adequately planned, supervised or carried out in a safe manner. The first floor was not a safe place.

“The prosecution submit all of these failures would have been obvious to anyone visiting the site and anyone aware of the previous prohibition notice should have been particularly alert to such obvious issues relating to the safety of those working.”

Health and safety inspectors found unprotected stairwell openings in the first floor. Extra scaffolding had to be erected so pictures could be safely taken of the site, the court heard.

John Cooper, defending Holland, said the evidence would “not meet the test” for them to find him guilty of manslaughter. Craig Rush, defending Oakes, said he was not “criminally responsible” for it.

CARPENTER FELL 15FT ON TO CONCRETE FLOOR BELOW

AT around 7.50am on September 30, 2014, Andrew Cooper and David Clark arrived for work at Stanmer Park stables, the court was told.

They climbed a ladder to the first floor of the east wing and then Mr Clark placed a piece of scaffold board over a large gap for a stairway so they could walk across.

Mr Cooper suggested they replace the board with a heavy metal frame called a Youngman. Each picked up one end of the frame, which weighed between 20kg and 30kg.

As Mr Clark stepped on to the board to walk across the gap, Mr Cooper heard a “crack”, Lewes Crown Court was told.

Mr Clark fell about 15ft to the concrete floor below, prosecutor Thomas Kark said. The board broke under Mr Clark’s weight, which was “significantly” increased by the weight of the metal frame he was carrying.

Mr Cooper rushed to his aid but it was obvious he had a serious head injury. At one point he stopped breathing, Mr Kark said.

Paramedics found Mr Clark lying on the ground unconscious. He also had severe spinal injuries, the court heard.

He was airlifted to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, and then moved to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

But he died a month later on October 28 after developing blood clots caused from deep vein thrombosis, jurors were told. This was caused by his legs being paralysed from the fall, the court heard.

Tributes poured in for the carpenter, known as Brighton Dave, from across the world from fellow Glasgow Rangers Football Club supporters.

More than 900 people attended his funeral in Hove with many wearing Rangers scarves.

Former player and club manager Ally McCoist even rang Mr Clark’s partner Beverley to give personal condolences on behalf of all Rangers fans.