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Contractor sentenced after roofwork carried out without proper risk control
A roofing contractor has appeared in court after four employees were found by HSE Inspectors ”balancing dangerously” on a barn roof in Cheshire.
Joseph Jones, 61, was prosecuted after an inspector visiting Norley Bank Farm in February 2010 found Mr Jones giving instructions to the men who were working some 4m above the ground refurbishing the roof.
Magistrates heard that the HSE Inspector ordered the men from the roof and issued a Prohibition Notice requiring work to stop until scaffolding or edge protection had been put installed.
Matter of luck that operators not injured
The decision to prosecute was based on “the serious nature of the health and safety breach, and the potential risk to the lives of workers”.
Mr Jones, of Chester Road in Pentre, South Wales, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000 on 25 October.
HSE Inspector John Ellis said:
“Any of Mr Jones’ four employees could have suffered a serious injury as a result of falling from the barn roof. Each year 11 roofers are killed as the result a fall. It is only luck that none of the men were injured on this occasion.
“Mr Jones admitted in his interview with HSE that this project was larger than he normally carried out, and that in hindsight it was impossible to carry out the work without scaffolding.
“We publish free clear advice on the measures need when carrying out roof work. Mr Jones should have been aware of the expected standards.”