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Tributes to popular builder
A well-known builder plunged to his death when he fell from a roof, an inquest heard.
Tributes have been paid to popular Neil Gowers, 46, of Buckingham Road, Tring, who was working to repair a leak on a house roof when he fell.
Close family friend Mike Stark said the Gowers family received a huge amount of support from the community following the tragic death.
Last Friday (August 31) an inquest heard that Mr Gowers was not using a special roof ladder while doing the repair and the two ladders he was using were not secured properly.
The father of three was working in Beech Grove, Tring, on February 13 when the accident happened.
Paramedics were called when he was found lying unconscious on the drive with a ladder on top of him. It is believed he fell around 40 feet.
Mr Gowers had suffered a serious head injury and died at Hemel Hempstead Hospital the following day.
Hertfordshire coroner Edward Thomas commended the family's decision to donate Mr Gowers' organs to help save other lives.
He said: "I know how important it is for families that donation takes place and how important it is for the families who benefit. That decision I applaud.
"Mr Gowers was a highly respected self-employed builder who was used by many people in the Tring area."
He managed a youth team for Tring Tornadoes and was a keen supporter of Tring Athletic Football Club. More than 300 people attended his funeral.
Speaking after the inquest Mr Stark said: "He gave a lot of his time to coach and manage his team.
"Although he didn't do it with a view to being successful, the team was extremely successful and probably
one of the most successful teams in the West Herts league."
Mr Stark said that when not working Mr Gowers spent a lot of time with his three children, Harvey, 18, Courtney, 16 and Harry, 12.
Despite their father's death, Harvey gained two As and a B in his A levels and is going on to university, while Courtney, a talented ice skater, is now teaching the sport. Harry attends Tring School and still plays for Tring Tornadoes as part of the team that his father coached.
Mr Stark said: "There were a lot of very sad people after the accident but I think they got comfort from knowing how popular Neil was."
A jury at the inquest returned a verdict of accidental death and recorded that Mr Gowers died from a subdural haematoma midline shift
due to a subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Trevor Tollervey said Mr Gowers had secured a ladder, running from the ground to the gutter, by strapping it to a wall plug fixing in the building's mortar.
Although this is a recognised method used by workmen, Mr Tollervey said: "The wall plug was not designed to take the weight of somebody on a roof.
"That sort of wall plug is quite lightweight and is used to put up shelves in homes."
He said a stronger plug should have been drilled into the brickwork.
The ladder on the roof was resting on a piece of plywood and had no hooks to secure it over the roof ridge.
When closing the inquest Mr Thomas said: "The important thing in an inquest is to find out what happened but also to try to prevent another family going through the same pain."
If you would like to pay tribute to Mr Gowers contact The Gazette by clicking here
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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