THE grieving partner of a man who died after an iron bar fell on his head while at work said it took his death for safety measures to be introduced at the plant.

Kristian Norris, 29, died at Corus, near Redcar, as the result of an accident, a jury at Teesside Coroner’s Court decided yesterday.

The inquest heard that a raft of procedures have been introduced since his death to minimise the risk of such a tragedy happening again.

Following the four-day hearing, Louise Womack, the mother of Mr Norris’ two young children, said he was greatly missed.

“It has taken a fatality for the measures to be put in place,” she said. “It has taken Kristian’s death for this to happen. He should be here with his kids. He is missed everyday, he was very loved.”

As a bricklayer, Mr Norris, from Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, was employed as a contractor for Vesuvius UK.

He had been carrying out maintenance work in one of the huge furnace vessels at the former steel plant’s Lackenby site, on April 12, 2008.

He was helping to reline one of the vessels with bricks and was expected to complete the project that night.

After laying the last course, Mr Norris, and his colleague, Anthony Morrissey, loaded up a temporary lift with a pallet of leftover bricks and the crowbar before sending it up to a higher platform to be unpacked.

Mr Morrissey told the ten jurors earlier this week that he saw Mr Norris collapse out of the corner of his eye.

The 1.2-metre metal bar, which was tapered at one end, penetrated Mr Norris’ skull causing brain injuries.

The Heath and Safety Executive will consider all the evidence heard before a decision is made regarding possible enforcement action against the companies involved.

Richard Sykes, managing director at Vesuvius, said Mr Norris was a popular, enthusiastic and well-respected employee.

“We remain saddened by his death in such tragic circumstances,”

he added.

“Vesuvius considers safety of paramount importance and it will continue to ensure that a culture and mindset of safety first is maintained throughout the organisation and its activities.”

Jeremy White, BOS (Basic Oxygen Steelmaking) plant engineer at Corus, produced a report listing the new safety measures introduced.

He said: “Our main aim was to ensure that there was no risk of another accident along the same lines so we did everything we thought possible to minimise the risk.”