MILLIONAIRE property developer Mike Holland and his foreman have been found guilty of the manslaughter of a carpenter.

David Clark, 55, died after he sustained serious head injuries from falling through a first floor void while working on Holland’s Stanmer Park Stables in September 2014.

The 69-year-old businessman and his foreman, Grant Oakes, 46, were yesterday convicted of his manslaughter following a number of health and safety failings.

Speaking after the verdict at Lewes Crown Court, Mr Clark’s fiancee Beverley Clark said: “These two men had a duty of care to a man who worked for them.

“That man was my fiancé, that man went to work one morning and never came home again as a result of an accident that should never have occurred.

“Nothing will bring my Dave back. Nothing will heal my broken heart or make my life worth living again.

“ Dave died too soon in what I feel were totally unnecessary and unfair circumstances.

“His loss will be felt forever.”

The trial heard Holland and Oakes had been warned their building site was dangerous a year before the death.

A health and safety inspector turned up unannounced in September 2013 and found “extremely poor standards” for work being carried out at height.

The pair were put on notice to make it a safer place to work but a year later Mr Clark, of Dyke Road Avenue, Hove, suffered his fatal fall.

Holland’s company, Cherrywood Investments Limited, was converting the building into eight homes.

He employed Mr Clark and fellow carpenter Andrew Cooper.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Denis Bodger raised concerns when he visited and 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.

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

He failed the training course exam.

In 2014, Mr Clark and Mr Cooper started work on the east wing and 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 court heard that Holland had initially tried to blame Mr Clark when questioned by police.

Holland, of King’s Road, Brighton, and Oakes, of Elm Drive, Hove, were both found guilty of manslaughter due to gross negligence.

They will be sentenced on July 21.

‘NOTHING WILL MAKE MY LIFE WORTH LIVING AGAIN’

DAVE Clark’s fiancee said she hoped the harrowing court ordeal would prevent other families having to go through the same heartbreak.

In an emotional statement issued after the convictions, she said: “These two men had a duty of care to a man who worked for them. That man was my fiancé, that man went to work one morning and never came home again as a result of an accident that should never have occurred.

“Dave was not just a name, not just a statistic, like I feel he has been portrayed in this case. He was real. He was my partner, my love, my rock. He was a loving and devoted granddad. He was a caring and supportive father. He always put others’ needs and concerns before his own. Dave died too soon in what I feel were totally unnecessary and unfair circumstances.

“Nothing will bring my Dave back. Nothing will heal my broken heart or make my life worth living again. But if this awful experience I have had to go through, reliving it all again and again daily in court, means it highlights the dangers and stops other families having to suffer the heartache and loss that we suffer daily, then I can take a little peace from this knowledge.

“The only good that can come is if it stops even one single company from cutting corners to earn a few extra pounds in profit. It should make individual people stop and think, ‘No I’m not taking that risk, not even if it means losing my job’. Because you can get another job. You cannot get another life.”