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August 7, 2014

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Stoke cleaners in court over risky rooftop work

Stoke-on-Trent cleaning company Roof Right UK Ltd was fined £10,000 at Stafford Magistrates’ Court on 6 August after a worker was spotted on a roof without any falls protection in place.

A member of the public spotted a man on the pitched roof of a domestic property in Cheddleton, Staffordshire, while carrying out the cleaning work on 25 October 2013 and reported the dangerous activity to HSE.

Magistrates heard that an HSE inspector from the Stoke office followed up on the public’s report, which included photos of the worker, and found that Roof Right UK Ltd routinely arranged for workers to jet wash roof tiles without any suitable falls protection being in place.

A prohibition notice was issued to the company preventing it from carrying out further work unless suitable controls such as scaffolding were provided.

Roof Right UK Ltd of Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent, was found guilty in its absence to breaching regulation 3(1)(b) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The cleaning company was handed a £10,000 fine and ordered to pay £1,277 in costs.

HSE inspector Andrew Bowker said: “I would like to thank the member of the public for bringing this matter to our attention as they have undoubtedly prevented a serious injury.

“Roof Right UK Ltd put workers’ lives in danger by allowing them onto a slippery roof without suitable safety measures being in place. They failed to recognise their responsibility to ensure that work at height carried out under their control was done safely.”

Every year, around a third of workplace deaths are due to falls from height, with 25 people losing their lives in 2012/2013. 

For more information: www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/index.htm

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