Janine Brownlee, the mother of Jack Brownlee who was killed in a trench collapse in Delacombe in March, had been told of a hole believed to be as big as 5m by 2m deep at a site owned by Goldfield Group directly opposite Delacombe Town Centre, less than 500m from where her son was killed.

When The Courier visited the site yesterday, there was no signage and no fencing warning of the potential danger on the prominent site.

There was also no mention as to the site being privately owned, although a green shipping container with the Winterfield logo was on the site.

The area believed to be in question was circled by orange flags.

Developer Goldfield Group yesterday confirmed there was a hazard on the privately owned site and will today work to close off the area to the public. It stressed it was not an active work site and no workers were at risk.

Mrs Brownlee said her biggest worry was that children had been seen riding their bike and playing in the area and could easily fall into the hazard.

“I ran into a member of the public and they had concerns and they’d heard about what happened to Jack and they said there was another hole up there which was just on open ground and anyone could fall into it,” Mrs Brownlee said.

“There’s no protection around the site, it’s just flags and if a child saw the flags they’d be attracted to see what it is and they could fall in.

“It’s not blocked off from the road, a child could ride their bike through, or someone could be walking at night and not even see it, something needs to be done.”

Mrs Brownlee said she worried that someone else could lose a child in the similar way she did “I just couldn’t live with myself if I knew there was a possible danger there and I did nothing about it,” she said.

Developer Goldfield Group yesterday confirmed there was a hazard on the privately owned site and will today work to close off the area to the public.

It said it would today erect new signage and fencing but stressed the area was not an active work site and workers were not at any risk.

“As a responsible developer, Goldfields Group’s highest priority is the safety of its sites,” a spokesperson said. 

“A barrier will be erected imminently, along with signage indicating the presence of a hazard. Goldfields requests that members of the public refrain from accessing the privately-owned site for their own safety.”

WorkSafe said the authority would make further inquiries with the duty holder to ensure adequate safety measures are in place. 

Have you signed up to The Courier's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.