Court told that failure to tie scaffolding to building put public at risk

A Manchester-based scaffolding company has been fined £24,000 after scaffolding collapsed and crushed several cars.

Craven Scaffolding was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive and was ordered by Trafford magistrates court to pay £7,000 towards the cost of the prosecution in addition to the fine.

The incident occurred in January last year, when the structure, which was more than 40m wide and nearly 6m high, was forced over by high winds. It collapsed onto a neighbouring residential street, damaging several parked cars.

The court heard that the company had failed to tie the scaffolding to the building, despite it being in a windy location.

HSE inspector Neil Martin said: “People living near the site could easily have been badly injured or even killed when the scaffolding collapsed. Several cars parked on the street were crushed but luckily no one was in them at the time.

“The scaffolding collapsed because basic health and safety procedures weren't followed when it was put up. If it had been tied to the building, it could not have been forced over by high winds.”

Craven Scaffolding pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by failing to carry out an inspection of the scaffolding up to seven days before the collapse, and failing to ensure the safety of the public.

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