Durham Mining Museum - Colliery Accident 1906 (original) (raw)

New screens erected in connection with the sinking and fitting-up of the Ladysmith Pit, close to the Croft Pit, had been in operation for about 7 weeks and new work was still being added. The manager had given instructions to fence all the more dangerous parts, and this had been accomplished, and men were busy completing the fencing. Deceased was employed picking stones from the coal passing along on a travelling belt, and occasionally she shovelled the refuse down a shoot, where it fell into wagons below. On the floor on which she worked there was a space of 16 feet 3 inches from the belt to the side of the building, and within 1 foot 9 inches of the side and 1 foot 6 inches from the floor, a shaft 3 inches in diameter revolved 70 times per minute, and within about 3 feet of one of the shoots there was a carriage for the shaft, and on each side of it a ring was placed round the shaft secured by two set screws, the square end of which projected inch; the rings were fixed on the shaft to prevent longitudinal movement. Deceased was standing near the carriage, and her skirts, which were about 6 inches from the floor, were caught by a set screw of one of the rings, and she was drawn in and carried round several times before the machinery was stopped. The nearly plain shaft did not look particularly dangerous, but where girls and women are working anything revolving is always a source of danger, and should be carefully fenced.

	Skelly, Margaret Ann (died: 27 Jul 1906) , aged 17, Screener, crushed by screens
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