A building company boss has admitted that he feels a sense of responsibility for the death of one of his workers at the home of Hampshire cricket.

Taking to the witness box for the second day at Winchester Crown Court, Ian Gould said in hindsight he could have done more to prevent Phillip Carsley’s death at the Ageas Bowl.

But an emotional 53-year-old said yesterday that he never thought he was putting his employee’s life at risk.

The trial has previously heard how the 34-year-old died of multiple injuries in February 2010 after two three-tonne concrete walls toppled onto him.

The prosecution alleges that the concrete walls put up on February 8 were not secured in the usual way using L-shaped brackets bolted into the ground and were therefore dangerous.

A header wall, which would have also stabilised the new erections, was not put in place because the bolt holes were out of line.

But Gould, who denies manslaughter through gross negligence, said: “As far as I was concerned it was a solid construction we had put up.

“We are not in the business of putting people at risk. We thought what we were doing was perfectly safe.

“When the wall went over I was six feet away from it; if it had come the other way it would have hit me.”

At the time Gould’s firm Prefix Limited was being paid £76,000 for around 20 days’ work, helping to build new terracing at the stadium in West End.

Gould admitted he felt a sense of responsibility for Mr Carsley’s death but said all key decisions involving how to put up the walls were taken in conjunction with site manager David Morgan.

Asked by prosecution counsel Gareth Patterson if more could have been done to protect the safety of those on site Gould answered: “With hindsight, yes.”

“Looking back on it I did have the opportunities to stop things at different stages.

“In that respect I’m responsible to a certain extent for what happened.

“If at any time we had thought it wasn’t safe we would have stopped.

“I can’t alter what happened, I wish I could.

“It’s affected people a lot. Phil’s family has two little girls, obviously they are affected by it every day.

“I think about it a lot. I have to live with that.”

Gould, of Eastrington, East Yorkshire, also denies breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Yorkshire man Phillip Carsley died on his first day on site after a year of being out of work.

Proceeding.