A HAMPSHIRE builder has been found guilty of manslaughter after one of his workers was crushed to death by falling masonry.

Following a trial at Winchester Crown Court Paramjit Singh was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of Kulwant Singh Athwal, 64, of Southampton.

The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports until December 3, when 48-year-old Singh is likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence.

During the trial the court was told that the defendant's "truly exceptionally bad" failure to protect his workers and secure the area around a garage led to Mr Athwal's death.

Shauna Ritchie, prosecuting, said Singh had been employed to clear rubble and demolish the garage of a property in Ling Dale, Chilworth, in July, 2019.

She said Singh used a digger to demolish the roof and three walls on July 15 and returned the following day to take down the final wall.

Ms Ritchie said Singh had been using a mini-excavator inside the remainder of the garage moments before the wall collapsed on to Mr Athwal.

She added: "The precise mechanism of the collapse of that wall is not known. What is known is that falling masonry struck Kulwant Singh Athwal and caused him catastrophic crush injuries.

A section of the wall that fell weighed 167kg (307lbs), the court was told.

Ms Ritchie said Singh had failed to take precautions to protect his four workers on the site, including fencing off the danger area, putting up warning signs and carrying out a survey of the building prior to demolition.

All he did, she said, was verbally advise one of his crew to stay two metres away from the garage site.

Ms Ritchie told the jury: "There were simple and effective steps that should have been taken by the defendant.

"Paramjit Singh appreciated the dangers of the work he was undertaking and he took none of these steps.

"It's the prosecution case that he was grossly negligent, his negligence was truly exceptionally bad, that it was criminal, and he was therefore guilty of the manslaughter of Kulwant Singh Athwal."

Singh, from Southampton, pleaded guilty to two Health and Safety at Work Act offences but denied his actions were negligent and amounted to manslaughter.

After retiring for a total of seven hours and 45 minutes, the jury convicted him on a majority verdict of 10-2 on Wednesday.