A workman was killed today when he was crushed by a falling metal pipe at a factory, police said.
A steel pipe weighing around a quarter of a tonne rolled on top of 39-year-old David Applegarth, of Darlington, County Durham.
A Health and Safety Executive investigation has been launched into the incident at Findlay Fabrications on the Aycliffe Industrial Estate, Newton Aycliffe.
Shortly after 6am, Mr Applegarth was securing a load of eight heavy pipes on to a lorry when one of them came loose and knocked him around 10 feet to the ground.
A Durham Police spokesman said today: ''A second eight metre-long (26ft-long) pipe also moved and rolled on top of him, causing severe head injuries and he was confirmed dead at the scene by a police surgeon.''
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