Firms fined after worker falls through rooflight

The roofer fell through a fragile section of the building in Glusburn in 2022, the HSE said

Two construction companies have been fined a total of more than £95,000 after a worker fell through a fragile rooflight at a factory in West Yorkshire, impaling his leg on machinery below.

The incident happened as the man was working on the roof at Cirteq Ltd on Colne Road, Glusburn, in Keighley, on 8 July 2022, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The man sustained minor leg injuries but had been put at "serious risk" by principal contractor A.T. Lee Properties Limited of Skipton and sub-contractor LJH Property Limited of Baildon, the HSE said.

Both companies admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and were fined at Leeds Magistrates' Court on 1 October.

A.T. Lee Properties Limited, of Draughton, Skipton, was ordered to pay £47,783 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Company director Neil Cryer received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £2,639 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the same act.

Meanwhile, LJH Property Limited, of Moorfield Drive, Baildon, Bradford, was fined £47,818 after pleading guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the same act.

Company director Luke Hudson, who pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the same act, received a two-year conditional discharge and was told to pay £2,639 in costs.

The incident took place at Cirteq Ltd on Colne Road

The HSE said the injured worker had been over-cladding an existing asbestos cement roof alongside two colleagues when the incident happened.

Its investigation found that A.T. Lee Properties Limited had not properly planned the work, and neither they nor their sub-contractor LJH Property Limited had effective preventative and protective measures in place to control the risks associated with roof work.

They also failed to ensure the correct equipment and tools were in place to undertake the work safely.

Paul Thompson, HSE principal inspector, who investigated the incident, said: "People working on the roof and those working below within the factory were placed at serious risk."

Had the man fallen just a short distance either side of where he was impaled, "this could have been a wholly different outcome", he said.

"Work at height continues to be the leading cause of workplace fatalities, and had this work been planned, managed, and monitored to a sufficient standard by all parties involved, this incident should not have occurred."

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