In 2019, we reported the tragic story of 8-year-old Harvey Tyrrell, who died after being electrocuted in the back garden of the King Harold Pub, Romford. In April 2021, the case was finally settled in court. Now, the pub’s owner is paying the price.
Manslaughter and Abstraction
When Harvey climbed the pub garden wall to get his football back, no one anticipated that he would be electrocuted.
Initially, it was thought that Harvey had suffered a head injury. However, the post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was an electric shock.
On 15 April 2021, the pub’s owner, David Bearman, 73, was sentenced to 9 years in prison after pleading guilty to gross negligence manslaughter.
Colin Naylor, Bearman’s brother-in-law, was also sentenced to 12-months imprisonment.
“A ticking-time-bomb”
Naylor (a qualified engineer) regularly worked on the electrics for the pub; however, it became clear that the pub’s electrics were in dangerously bad shape.
Soon after Harvey’s death, an inspection was conducted at the King Harold pub, during which 12 faults were found that posed the risk of electric shocks. 32 additional potentially dangerous defects were also discovered.
The pub was so dangerous that Judge Martyn Zeidman QC described it as a “ticking time bomb.”
(Judge Martyn Zeidman QC, Essex Live)
Senseless Tragedy
“No sentence can undo the wrong he has caused or diminish the guilt he feels and, through me, he apologises from the bottom of his heart for the grief that he has caused all of Harvey’s family… He hopes one day the family can forgive him.”
(Neil Fitzgibbon, Bearman’s Barrister, Essex Live)
Every year, hundreds of innocent lives are risked because of energy theft. In this case, a young and innocent life was needlessly taken as a result.
You can prevent tragedies like this from happening again by reporting any suspicions of electricity theft to Stay Energy Safe. You will remain 100% anonymous when you tell us what you know, and the information you pass on could help save lives.