Building support company prosecuted after “preventable death”

A SCAFFOLDER has been prosecuted after a worker fell to his death from a roof.

Barnsdale Scaffolding was fined £15,000 for the “entirely preventable death”

Mr Walter Booth, a trader, was carrying out repairs to the roof of Micklegate Methodist Church, using Barnsdale Scaffolding.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that the scaffolding edge protection provided by Barnsdale failed, as there was a gap between the roof and the edge of the scaffolding.

Mr Booth, 63, fell to his death through the gap.

Wayne Morgan of Barnsdale Estate, Castleford, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £15,000 in costs by Wakefield Magistrates Court.

HSE inspector Sarah Lee commented: “This was an entirely preventable death. In this case the scaffolding edge protection was not sufficient to prevent a person falling from the roof. The scaffold installation should have been erected correctly, follow the profile of the roof and have no large gaps.

“The standards for scaffold are well known and have been in place for many years. It is vital that scaffolders ensure that scaffold is erected as per the standards and it is checked after it is erected, to ensure that everything is in place.”