Burnley handyman escapes roof plunge
A BURNLEY handyman had a lucky escape when he fell through a fragile roof at a factory in the town, a court has heard.
Engineering firm Lupton and Place was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at its factory on Athletic Street on 23 September 2010.
Reedley Magistrates’ Court was told the company, which employs almost 150 people, allowed the contractor to work along a section of the roof without anything in place to stop him falling.
The 67-year-old, who has asked not to be named, was fixing a leak on the roof when he lost his balance, stepped backwards and fell through one of the roof panels. He escaped injury after landing on a machine cover more than four metres below.
Lupton and Place admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £6,250 in prosecution costs last week.
HSE investigating inspector at HSE Matt Lea said: “The contractor had been employed by the firm for more than 30 years, but nothing was done to monitor or control the work he was doing.
“A company the size of Lupton and Place should have requested method statements and risk assessments from him to make sure the work could be done safely.
“The handyman was very lucky to come away from the incident with just bruising. He could easily have suffered a major injury or even been killed in a fall of that distance.”
