DOZENS of people gathered outside Waltham Forest Town Hall today to pay their respects to two men who were killed while working in the borough.

The crowds laid flowers in memory of Raymond Holmes, 60, and Andrezej Rokita, 55, as part of the annual Workers Memorial Day (WMD).

Mr Rokita, a Polish national, was killed in March last year when he was crushed by falling materials at a building site in Midland Road, Leyton.

Mr Holmes died a few weeks later - and just two days after WMD 2010 - when he was struck by a vehicle as he worked at the Coppermill Water Treatment works in Walthamstow.

Friends and colleagues of Mr Rayleigh, who lived in Rayleigh in Essex, were among those at today's ceremony.

Both cases are under investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), but the police are leading the enquiry into Mr Holmes's death.

Mick Ainsley, regional organiser of the GMB union, said: "Workers Memorial Day is held every year to remember those killed, injured, disabled and made unwell by their work.

"It recognises the preventable nature of the majority of this and calls for action."

Campaigners have criticised the Government for reducing the HSE's budget by a third, and say more needs to be done to protect workers from harm.

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