WORKERS who were riding on a construction lift when it plunged 30ft, killing one man, were breaking the rules, an inquest was told yesterday.
There was a notice on the lift that it was to be used only for materials, said government investigators into the tragedy at an office block near Groningen, Holland.
Geoffrey Hill, 46, a scaffolder from Middlesbrough, died from severe brain injuries.
The Coroner for Central Teesside, Michael Sheffield, recorded a verdict of accident at the Middlesbrough inquest into the collapse on December 8, 1997.
A Dutch workmate of Mr Hill, of Southfield Road, Middlesbrough, suffered severe spinal injuries, and he said later: "It means I shall have to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair."
Another Dutch worker who rode the lift a day before it twisted and bent said: "I know you are not allowed to go up in a construction lift. I just did it out of laziness.
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