A BUILDING firm and its director are to face charges in court relating to the tragic death of a Portland father at a construction site.

Bricklayer Thomas Adam Telfer, 31, died when a concrete retaining wall collapsed on top of him in June 2015.

It happened at the Chatterton Heights building site in Somers Road, Lyme Regis.

Three years on, the Health & Safety Executive has confirmed summons had been served on Capstone Building Limited and its director Stephen Ayles.

They are to be prosecuted under the Health & Safety at Work Act, in particular sections relating to ensuring the health, safety and welfare at work of employees, and to not exposing employees to risks to their health or safety.

Mr Telfer, a married father-of-two who lived on Portland but was originally from Weymouth and went to Budmouth College, suffered severe head injuries in the incident.

Emergency services including the air ambulance raced to the west Dorset site but Mr Telfer was sadly declared dead at the scene.

Paying tribute after his death, his family described him as a 'much-loved husband and father and a beloved son and brother'.

They said: "Thomas will always be a shining light in the many lives he touched and his light will continue to shine through his children."

A three-day jury inquest was held into the death last July.

The jury determined the death was due to the methods used to construct the wall which collapsed onto Mr Telfer, the lack of support for the wall and "not enough controlled access to the area of high risk" on the day the death occurred.

The Health and Safety Executive said at the time it was continuing to investigate the incident.

Speaking after the inquest last year, Mr Telfer's widow, Joanne, said: "We are probably a step closer to closure and it gives me an answer for the girls.

"There are still so many unanswered questions left, and it doesn't bring him back."

The case will be heard at Poole Magistrates Court on Wednesday, June 27.