NETWORK Rail may plead guilty to a charge relating to an accident at Margaretting which left one man dead and two others seriously injured.

Malcolm Slater, 64, died when he and two workmates fell 15ft on to the main line. They were working on the overhead lines after a train brought down the power cables, on June 10, 2008.

The accident took place when a metal basket they were in broke away from a hydraulic arm of a vehicle holding it up.

Network Rail has denied three charges brought by the Office of Rail Regulation.

But during a brief hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court last week, the company’s defence team indicated a guilty plea to one of the charges may be forthcoming.

The company will return to court in September for another hearing.

The rail firm is accused of failing to ensure the equipment used to lift the employees was suitable or could support their weight and the weight of their equipment and tools.

It is also alleged to have failed to ensure the men and their supervisors had written instructions on how to use work equipment.

The third charge alleges it failed to guarantee all persons who used or supervised the use of equipment had received adequate health and safety training.

Mr Slater, from Harold Hill, was taken to Queen’s Hospital in Romford with spinal injuries, but died 20 days after the accident.

His two colleagues – Phil Miles and Daniel Wild – were later said to be office-bound as a result of their injuries.

An inquest into Mr Slater's death in October 2010 returned a verdict of accidental death.