HSE | Two Shrewsbury-based companies have been fined after a worker fell through a roof during extension work on a house extension.
The injured man was one of several workers employed by Roofrite (Shropshire) Limited carrying out work on the roof of the property on 9 December 2022. The firm had been appointed by principal contractor Harding and Houlston Building Contractors Limited to install the roof on the property.
While working on the roof, the man accidently stepped in an area where there was an opening for a window that was yet to be installed, resulting in him falling through and to the ground below. He suffered fractures to his spine and ribs.
The HSE’s investigation found that external scaffold had been put into place around the perimeter of the extension to allow workers access to the roof. However, there were no measures in place internally to prevent falls into the extension and to the ground below.
The HSE investigation also found that Roofrite (Shropshire) Limited had failed to properly plan the work and to provide its workers with suitable instructions for carrying out their duties safely. Harding and Houlston Building Contractors Limited had also failed to ensure that the roof work had been properly planned, and failed to carry out any monitoring of the work that was being completed by the roofers on the site, which was under its control.
Roofrite (Shropshire) Limited of Atcham Business Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, pleaded guilty to breaching three charges of Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and were fined £8,000 and order to pay costs of £2,990 at a hearing at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on 19 May 2025.
Harding and Houlston Building Contractors Limited of Emstrey House North, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and were fined £500 and order to pay costs of £2,990 at the same hearing.
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