Safety Signs News

Contractor fined over unsafe roof demolition

30th April 2010 | Health and Safety Signs

A demolition contractor has been fined after failing to adequately protect his son while he was working on a pub roof.

The man, who trades as Westwise Demolition, did not erect scaffolding during work on the disused Lincolnshire building between January 16th and 25th 2008.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the project involved a tile-by-tile dismantling of the roof, but no measures were taken to ensure that tiles were not dropped on to people walking below.

The contractor pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Leicester Crown Court and was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £13,403 in costs.

"This was foolhardy to say the least and could so easily have resulted in serious injury or even death," said HSE inspector Martin Giles after the hearing.

"Demolition must be properly planned and, in this case, providing adequate scaffolding or a proper mobile elevating work platform would have allowed this work to be done safely."

HSE statistics suggest that falls from height are the most common cause of serious or fatal injuries every year in UK workplaces.

Posted by Nicole Stevens ADNFCR-2754-ID-19753329-ADNFCR