Compensation awarded after wind farm worker froze to death

The family of a security guard who froze to death at a Scottish wind farm has been given a six-figure sum of compensation.

Ronnie Alexander, 74, died in hospital after being found lying in snow at the site near New Cumnock, East Ayrshire.

A construction company and his employer were fined last year after admitting health and safety breaches.

CSM Facilities and Farrans Construction will both pay half of the compensation pay out.

Mr Alexander's wife, Mary, said she hoped the construction industry would learn lessons from his death.

"The last few years have been utterly hellish," she said. "Everything about the loss of Ronnie and life without him has been a heartbreak.

"Now that all the court hearings are finished it would be wrong to say I'm 'happy' or 'better' - I'm only glad those parts are over and I can focus my full attention on my family.

"I just hope lessons can be learned from all this by those who operate in construction or remote locations.

"Keeping people safe should not be a hassle or an afterthought. It should be priority number one to avoid these very tragedies."

Mr Alexander was working as a security guard at the Afton wind farm construction site when the area was hit by heavy snow on 21 January 2018.

His family raised the alarm when he failed to return to his Kilmarnock home after a 12-hour shift.

A search was mounted and mountain rescuers found him about a mile from his cabin more than six hours after his shift had finished.

He was airlifted to hospital where he died of hypothermia.

At Ayr Sheriff Court his employer CSM Facilities and Northstone (NI) Ltd - the parent company of Farrans Construction - admitted health and safety failings.

It emerged that a generator had broken down and there was no back-up to provide heat, light or power.

And security guards had no way of contacting the emergency services because of the patchy mobile phone service in the area.

The compensation paid the families follows civil action against the two firms.

Damian White, of Digby Brown Solicitors, said: "It should be a given that loved ones come home from their work which is why safety regulations exist - and that is why it is right the two companies were convicted and why it is right they recognise the loss felt by the Alexander family via civil damages."

Following the initial court hearing, Northstone issued a statement expressing its deep regret and said the company took "immediate action" to prevent a recurrence.