Construction work halted in Epsom because defects were uncovered in a tower crane weeks after a similar machine collapsed in Battersea killing two men, it has emerged.

The Health and Safety Executive found that loose bolts on the crane at the Capitol Square development in Church Street went uncorrected for four weeks.

On December 21 it served a prohibition notice on Falcon Crane Hire, which also owned the rig that fell on a block of flats near Battersea Power Station.

Michael Alexa, 23, a bus driver washing his car, and the crane operator, Jonathan Cloke, 37, died in the accident last September.

This week Falcon said that the mechanical failings found at the Gladedale site in Epsom had been corrected within 24 hours of the notice.

The initial delay, a spokesman said, was caused by the worker responsible going on holiday before reporting a stretched bolt.

"It was just an amazing admin slip-up that happened in our filing office because this guy went to Australia for four weeks.

"It was quickly rectified once we found the paper trail, and systems have now been put in place to prevent a recurrence."

But a spokesman for the construction union UCATT said the latest safety lapse underlined the need for more rigorous inspections.

"It is incumbent on all workers to report concerns about crane safety to the relevant authorities. Any delay could cost lives."

In January 180 tower cranes belonging to Falcon were examined independently, stopping work on developments such as the Stratford Olympic site.