Manslaughter charge for artist

News | HSP
14.02.2008

The creator of an inflatable sculpture that killed two people after breaking free of its moorings was charged with manslaughter yesterday.

The incident happened at the Riverside Park, County Durham, in July 2006. The sculpture suddenly broke free of its moorings, rearing 70 feet into the air. Elizabeth Collings, 68, and Claire Furmedge, 38 were killed. Another 13 people were injured, including a three-year-old girl.

The inflatable art work, so large it contained several different rooms featuring different colours and sounds, rose over 150ft in the air after a gust caught underneath it.

Maurice Agis, 76, faces a count of gross negligence manslaughter after his Dreamspace sculpture overturned in County Durham.

A police statement issued yesterday said: "Durham Constabulary has today charged Maurice Agis, aged 76, with gross negligence manslaughter following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

"Mr Agis, who was charged at Charing Cross police station in London, also faces an offence under Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 [HSWA]."

The company behind the project, Brouhaha International, and Chester-le-Street district council were also charged under the HSWA, as was the council's director of development services, Tony Galloway.

They were all bailed to appear before Peterlee magistrates on 26 February.

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