Mathew Shane Armitage, 21, scaffolder, of Mt Maunganui, appeared before Judge Kevin Phillips charged with injuring with intent to injure Torben Freitag on December 11 and stealing his wallet.
Mr Freitag, a 24-year-old schoolteacher, was on holiday in Queenstown when he was attacked about 2.45am. Lawyer Russell Checketts entered guilty pleas to the two charges on behalf of his client and guilty pleas to four separate offences.
Armitage also admitted escaping police custody and possession of ecstasy in Mt Maunganui on New Year’s Eve, intentional damage in Tauranga on December 22 and breaching community work on December 18, in Tauranga.
Sergeant Ian Collin said Armitage and an associate – co-accused scaffolder Adam John Ferrari, 23, of Mt Maunganui – were intox-icated when they approached Mr Freitag.
The tourist and a member of the public walked away from the pair, but they followed the German man along Shotover St.
Mr Collin said the accused made changes to their appearance, walked up behind Freitag, and Armitage’s associate punched the tourist in the head, knocking him unconscious. Armitage kicked Mr Freitag in the head three or four times while he lay unconscious, the court was told.
The German man was bruised, suffered abrasions and had to wear a neck brace after the attack.
The defendants continued drinking in Queenstown, using stolen money to pay for alcohol.
Armitage told police he assaulted the victim because he believed Mr Freitag had slapped him in the face, the court was told.
Judge Phillips remanded Armitage in custody until sentencing takes place on March 21.
Via: www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/ U.K. Edition
The Magpas Helimedix team were called to the emergency at 9.15am and were on the scene in just 15 minutes. They were flown by Police Helicopter.
When the Helimedix arrived, the ambulance crew were already on the scene. The Helimedix team assessed the patient and he was taken by land ambulance to Bedford Hospital, where on arrival his condition was stable.
This illustrates how effective the joint service between Magpas, Cambridgeshire Police and the East of England Ambulance Service Trust is. Magpas Helimedix Team: Volunteer consultant Vijayasankar with EEAST Critical Care Paramedic Dan Cody.
Magpas is the country’s only dedicated night time and day time Air Ambulance with specialist Doctors and Paramedics Magpas was dispatched to over 950 Medical Emergencies in the East of England in 2010 alone. Magpas receives no state funding and relies wholly on generous donations from you the Public.
Via: 
Following a four-day hearing a High Court judge has reserved his decision on whether scaffolding erector Graham Wood should receive the huge payout.
Mr Wood, 42, from Doncaster, claims he has suffered from breathing problems since a gas leak at the refinery in June 2005.
His barrister, Jonathan Clarke, told the court: “Ever since a few hours after this happened he has been plagued by respiratory symptoms and, to this day, remains on the strongest inhalers available.”
Mr Wood is suing Esso Petroleum for damages – mainly for lost earnings, plus “pain and suffering”.
But Esso has denied liability, saying none of the other people in the same area as Mr Wood suffered any problems.
Via: 
Lewis MacDonald, 35, died after falling from the Ocean Princess rig, which was docked at Invergordon harbour on the Cromarty Firth, on November 28, 2008.
A fatal accident inquiry at Tain Sheriff Court last July heard evidence from colleagues who were working with him on the revamp and maintenance of the semi-submersible rig when he fell to his death.
The inquiry was told that Mr MacDonald, of 39 Milnafua, Alness, fell to the sea below after stepping on a corroded metal grating on the deck of the rig, owned by Diamond Offshore Drilling.
A scaffolding barrier was set up around the unsafe grating, while wooden planks were placed on most of the exposed patch.
As Mr MacDonald was adjusting the scaffolding, he stepped on to an uncovered part of the grating, which gave way under his weight.
In his official judgment, published yesterday, Sheriff David Sutherland called the death of the “skilled and experienced scaffolder”, who worked for Invergordon-based McDonald Scaffolding Services, a “tragic accident”.
He said: “We will never know why Mr MacDonald chose to climb over the barrier rather than simply walk round about 30ft to the other side of the enclosed area.
“Whatever the reason for his actions, they would appear to have been completely unforeseen and, I consider, unforeseeable in all the circumstances.
“Given the evidence before me, I do not consider that either McDonald Scaffolding Services or Diamond Offshore Drilling should have taken any other prec- autions to avoid an accident.” A spokesman for Diamond Offshore Drilling said yesterday: “Our sympathies go out to the man’s family but we feel it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this time.”
No one from McDonald Scaffolding Services was available for comment last night.
Via: 
In addition to a fully comprehensive formwork, shoring, encapsulation, mast-climbing, suspended and powered access, scaffolding, staircase & edge protection package, Harsco also provided the largest rolling roof of its type ever to be used in the Netherlands.
“Although the rolling roof played a central role in Harsco’s contribution, our ability to act as a single-source supplier brought significant benefits to this project,” comments Arie van Dijk, Sales Manager, Harsco Infrastructure Construction Services BV “By providing a fully integrated solution we were able to ensure that each aspect was managed as efficiently as possible and also help maintain the highest safety standards on site.”
Harsco worked closely with the main contractor, Hurks van der Linden, and with roofing system provider HAKI to create the HAKITEC 750 rolling roof which shielded the site from the weather so that construction work could remain on schedule. The roof was designed to be opened and closed by the on-site scaffolding team during the construction work so that materials could be craned into the building. Towards the end of the project, Harsco and HAKI also raised the 1,446 sq m roof by an extra storey to create sufficient space for the final construction stage to take place.
Harsco Infrastructure is an approved supplier of HAKI’s temporary roof systems and accompanying shelter product range. Martin Van Putten, Managing Director of Harsco Infrastructure Construction Services in Holland, commented, “The HAKITEC 750 temporary roofing system has an unrivalled reputation for safety, ease of erection and speed of installation and is the product of choice for Harsco Europe. Therefore it was the only system we would have considered for this project.
“Teamwork on such a challenging application is essential so the total support HAKI UK gave us, from design right through to installation of the system, was crucial to the success of the project.”
Designed by the Dutch Hertzberger architecture studio, the striking new Faculty of Science building will house various scientific disciplines together under a huge open atrium. The atrium will eventually be topped by a large glass structure to create a striking landmark.
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