Leicestershire firm fined £10k over safety at height breaches

A Leicestershire-based company has been fined £10,000 for failing to ensure the safety of three contractors working at height.

Cobham Advanced Composites Ltd, of Shepshed, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for allowing three contractors to work on a 7m-high roof without adequate safety measures to prevent them falling.

The firm pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Loughborough Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. It was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,700.

The incident occurred when the company employed Streamline Guttering and Cladding, to install new guttering on its 7m-high building, between December 2008 and January 2009.

The workers were able to access the roof by using a mobile tower at the front of the structure, however there was no equipment to stop the men falling at the back of the building where the work was carried out.

Streamline Guttering and Cladding was fined at an earlier hearing after pleading guilty to breaching the Work At Height Regulations 2005.

Prosecuting, HSE inspector Mhairi Lockwood, said: “This case shows that it is not only the responsibility of the contracting company to ensure the safety of its workforce, but also that of its client.

“It’s essential that the hazards associated with work at height are recognised and understood by the client or customer who commissions the work and that they have a responsibility for controlling contractors when on their premises.

Last year more than 4,000 employees suffered major injuries after falling from height at work, and 21 workers in the construction industry died.