British bricklayer killed in work accident in south-west France

A British man died on Tuesday (April 9) when a wall of concrete blocks fell onto him in the town of Montaigu-de-Quercy, southern France, it has been confirmed.

Andrew Ponting had lived in the town for over 25 years, where he worked as a self-employed bricklayer, Mayor Robert Alazard told The Connexion. 

“It was a work accident,” he said. “He was working when a wall of concrete blocks fell on him.” 

Emergency services attended the scene but were not able to resuscitate him. 

Mr Ponting lived alone in the town and is survived by a father and brother in the UK, Mr Alazard said. 

The police have opened an investigation into the accident. 

In 2022, Mr Ponting made headlines in the local press when he drove his pickup truck across Europe to Kyiv to help a friend who was stranded in the Ukrainian capital.

He embarked on the dangerous journey with the man’s sister, based in Amsterdam, to get him out of a Kyiv psychiatric hospital, La Dépêche du Midi reported.