Runner killed instantly after being electrocuted by low-hanging cable

A man was found dead after he was electrocuted by an 11,000-volt electrical cable while training for a half-marathon.

John Henry Oates, known as Harry, went for a run near Kendal, Cumbria, in October 2023 when the 29-year-old came into contact with the cable and was killed instantly.

The electrical conductor came loose from its usual position and was suspended on equipment lower down on a pole.

This meant the conductor wasn’t earthed and remained live, posing a lethal threat to anyone who came into contact with it.

Harry, who had been living in Bristol, had an offer accepted to buy his first flat in the week of his death.

Electricity North West Ltd is responsible for the cable and, throughout Harry’s inquest, it stressed the incident happened because of a unique chain of events and was ultimately unforeseeable.

Harry’s devastated family said their pain is ‘immeasurable’ after losing a ‘perfect son and brother’.

They are still seeking answers as they believe his death could have been prevented, and, together with Gareth Naylor from Ison Harrison Solicitors, claim they have found evidence of similar incidents in the area.

Harry’s family in a statement said: ‘We have lost our perfect son and brother – an intelligent, kind, and wonderful young man, cherished by all who knew him.

‘He was full of promise, with his whole life ahead of him, and his absence leaves a void in our lives that can never be filled.

‘Our pain and grief are immeasurable, and we are left searching for answers in the wake of this unimaginable loss.

‘This was not a random or unique accident as has been described by Electricity North West Ltd.

‘There were missed opportunities to prevent what happened, and similar incidents have occurred before.

‘The wider risks were not addressed, and there was a reluctance to acknowledge this.

‘We call for accountability. Those responsible must answer for the failures that led to this tragedy, and must ensure that meaningful action is taken – without delay – to protect the public and prevent further loss of life.

‘We urge all involved to act with honesty, urgency, and compassion. Lessons must be learned, and robust procedures put in place so that no other family suffers as we have.

‘We ask for a thorough review of current practices, a commitment to transparency, and a renewed focus on safety so that our son’s life is not lost in vain, and so that his memory inspires real and lasting change.’

Mr Naylor, director and head of personal injury and inquest law at the Yorkshire-based law firm, said: ‘Harry was on a training run, running on a public footpath field at Badger Gate when he came into contact with a low-hanging 11kv electrical conductor and was killed immediately.

‘The conductor had released from its usual position two days earlier and became suspended on equipment lower down the pole, meaning that the conductor did not go to earth and remained live.

‘There was no automatic detection of the low-hanging line, and the low-hanging line was not reported.

‘The network operator Electricity North West Ltd maintained throughout the inquest that a unique chain of events led to the line hanging in a dangerous position, undetected for two days, but could not have been foreseen.’

Harry’s family struggled to accept the incident couldn’t have been prevented, and after investigating, Mr Naylor claimed he found evidence of previous incidents and alleged the energy firm failed to learn from them.

He said: ‘We discovered during our investigations the death of Dr Kew in 2012, who died in very similar circumstances.

‘He was also out running when he came into contact with a low-hanging line which had dropped to a dangerous position due to an insulator failure.

‘Much to the family’s dismay, Electricity North West Ltd, claim not to have known about that incident, and it appears that the Health and Safety Executive did nothing to investigate the cause of the insulator failure, with all attention in that case appearing to concentrate on the network operator’s failure to deactivate the line after they were notified that it was down.

‘Records from Electricity North West Ltd also revealed that there had been two other occasions within the region, in the last six years, where insulators had failed resulting in low-hanging live conductors, and one of these events resulted in the death of a group of cattle.

‘The family are again devastated that a further opportunity was missed to detect the latent defect within the insulators which was causing them to fail.

‘The family also expressed their concern that no consideration was given to the design of the infrastructure to ensure that, in the event of equipment failure, the line would hit the ground, thereby earthing and de-energising.

‘They were also troubled by the failure to consider positioning of poles near public footpaths, which could prevent lines from falling dangerously close to these paths.

‘Only now, following Harry’s death, have Electricity North West Ltd taken steps to reduce the significant danger to life by carrying out line patrols when they are notified of a phase-to-phase fault.

‘Prior to the accident the line was simply re-energised unless they received a notification from the public within 20 mins of a phase-to-phase fault warning.

‘Electricity North West Ltd will also be replacing the defective insulator and installing LineSight technology over the coming years.

‘The family are somewhat relieved that the coroner is issuing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the Energy Network Association to ensure that other network operators are aware of the latent defect within the insulators and the risk of low-hanging lines.

‘The family hope that the industry nationwide will learn from Harry’s tragic death and adopt the changes now implemented by Electricity North West Ltd so that no other family lose a loved one.

‘The Oates family described Harry as loving and fiercely loyal. The family are proud of his achievements and miss him beyond words.’

During the inquest, the family were represented by Mr Naylor alongside counsel Richard Copnall of Parklane Plowden Chambers.

Senior coroner for Cumbria, Kirsty Gomersal, recorded a narrative conclusion.

A spokesperson for Electricity North West Ltd said: ‘Our heartfelt sympathies remain with Harry Oates’ family at this time.

‘This was a tragic incident which both the coroner and Health and Safety Executive noted involved a rare and complex sequence of events that were unforeseeable.

‘Safety is our number one value, and we will continue to work with other distribution network operators and the industry trade body, ENA, on learnings from this immensely sad accident.’

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