Members of the public rushed to help lift the sign off Jacob Marx

The moment a 200kg sign fell from above a bookmakers and killed a young lawyer was captured on CCTV.

A jury at Blackfriars Crown Court has been shown the footage as part of a prosecution of gambling giant William Hill, who are accused of breaching safety laws.

Jacob Marx, 27, suffered fatal injuries when he was hit by the timber and aluminium sign as he walked along Camden Road at around 5pm on January 28, 2013.

Prosecutor James Ageros QC told the court that “William Hill presided over a dangerous muddle” by outsourcing building works to multiple subcontractors and “failing to connect the dots”.

Mr Marx, a New Zealander who had been living in London for four months with his girlfriend, was pronounced dead at the scene.

WARNING: CCTV footage, below, shows moment sign fell

Describing the footage of the “fateful day”, Mr Ageros said: “You can see people lifting the sign. It’s a heavy sign. It’s 30 stone. It took a number of people to lift it off Mr Marx.”

He said the footage, from inside the betting shop, did not show Mr Marx himself.

Mr Ageros told the jury that in 2006 the heavy sign was installed on a timber “subframe” that had been in place since 1999 and was left exposed to the elements, with an absence of weather proofing to protect the wood from water damage.

Jacob Marx, who was born in New Zealand, was visiting London with his girlfriend

He said there was no evidence that sign-makers Saltwell had discussed the suitability of the fittings with shopfitters, Acean, who were carrying out a £150,000 refurbishment of the store.

He said the new illuminated sign “was never going to be safe on the existing subframe”. The court heard that a sign-fitter travelled from Gateshead and installed the sign during the night while the shop was closed.

“There was something of a dangerous muddle occurring. The two contractors were not talking to each other,” Mr Ageros said.

“The only person who was overarching above them both was in a sense not ensuring there was any communication between the two.”

Eamonn Halloran, head of property services at William Hill, said that once work began Acean, as “principal contractor”, was responsible for the site.

He said: “It’s there site so they are responsible for the site while work is going on. Anyone going to that site has to go through the principal contractor.”

He said that Acean had worked on previous jobs with Saltwell, adding that the sign fitter had carried out 126 installations.

William Hill Operation Ltd denies one count of breaching its duty to ensure the safety of its staff an another of breaching its duty to ensure the safety of the public. The trial continues.