News

Oct 16, 2024

Electrocuted window cleaner felt 'body slipping away'

A window cleaner who survived a 33,000-volt shock said memories of his family played in his head as he waited for help. Jason Knight, from Westbury, Wiltshire, has spoken to the BBC for the first time

A window cleaner who survived a 33,000-volt shock said memories of his family played in his head as he waited for help.

Jason Knight, from Westbury, Wiltshire, has spoken to the BBC for the first time since he was electrocuted on 6 April.

The dad-of-three lost his left forearm and several toes after electricity jumped about 2m (6.6ft) from a power cable to his cleaning pole because of light winds.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) made inquiries into the incident but concluded there was no breach of regulations that would lead to a criminal investigation.

He is now speaking out in the hope that it will stop a similar incident happening to someone else.

Mr Knight was on the final window of a regular customer's house when he was electrocuted.

The last thing he remembers is bringing his pole down from the window, before waking up on the grass, not knowing who or where he was.

"I managed to crawl over to the nearest wall and I can remember sitting up," he said.

"I was looking at a flower, and I just thought I was going to die. I felt my whole body slipping away.

"I had all these memories going through my head [of] my family, that's all I could think about."

Mr Knight was eventually found by his customer, who called 999.

He was airlifted from Westbury to Southmead Hospital in Bristol in 12 minutes.

Mr Knight has undergone more than 20 operations in six months, including the amputation of his arm and toes, and said the electricity missed his heart "by millimetres".

When he woke up from a coma, Mr Knight said it was a moment of "shock" to see the look on his family members' faces and the extent of his injuries.

"What my family had to go through those first few days was quite frankly unimaginable," he said.

"Without them, I wouldn't be sat here now."

Mr Knight said he has had to "pull himself together" and accept his injuries, and said the Bristol Centre for Enablement is working on a prosthetic arm for him.

Mr Knight's father, John, is campaigning for water-fed poles to be insulated to a British standard to protect other professionals from electrocution.

"The worst part of all of this is it's totally preventable," he said.

"This equipment has gone completely under the radar, so cheap equipment is being manufactured and sold in the United Kingdom today with no British Standard."

Andrew Murrison, MP for South West Wiltshire, is backing the family's campaign.

He said poles without insulation needed "to be bottomed out completely and comprehensively", and has been in touch with the relevant window cleaning authorities to find out more.

"It's a big thing across the country, lots of window cleaners operating these poles, particularly now they no longer use ladders in the way that they used to for good health and safety reasons," Murrison added.

An HSE spokesperson said: “After making initial enquiries, we determined that the overhead powerlines involved in this incident met the national safety standards.

"We intend to take no further action.

“It is important that anyone working near overhead power lines maintain a safe distance away from them and fully understand the risks involved before carrying out their work.”

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