HSE | A London construction company and its sole director have been fined after a tower scaffold fell onto two members of the public on a busy high street in south-west London.

On 19 July 2023, operatives working for Add Prop Limited assembled a mobile tower scaffold on Putney High Street while under the supervision of the company’s sole director, Atif Riaz. The scaffold tower, which had been assembled incorrectly with inadequate measures to separate it from members of the public, was subsequently covered in sheeting.

The sheeting acted as a sail in windy conditions, causing the tower scaffold to overturn. The structure struck and trapped two members of the public, resulting in serious injuries.

Add Prop Limited was acting as principal contractor on a project to convert a commercial building into residential flats. Mr Riaz was both the project manager and site supervisor and was present overseeing the work on the day of the incident.

A HSE investigation found that Add Prop Limited had failed to ensure the temporary structure was designed, installed and maintained so that it could withstand foreseeable loads, including those created by wind acting on the sheeting. The company had previously been served with a Prohibition Notice in relation to unsafe work involving a tower scaffold at another site.

The investigation also found that the tower scaffold had neither been assembled nor inspected by adequately trained and competent persons. It had not been erected in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or established industry guidance.

HSE further found that Atif Riaz had been negligent in his role as both sole director and project manager. Despite the well-known risks associated with wind loading on scaffold structures, neither the company nor Mr Riaz took adequate account of those risks before deciding to sheet the scaffold.

Add Prop Limited was found guilty of breaching Regulation 19(2)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £7,000 in costs.

Atif Riaz, the company’s sole director, was found guilty of an offence under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £1,730 and ordered to pay £1,730 in costs.

HSE Inspector Daniel Burton said: “The public have a right to expect scaffolding they pass by is safe and has been properly installed – yet every year people are injured when scaffold towers overturn.

“In this case, two members of the public suffered serious injuries when a scaffold tower overturned on a busy high street. The risks associated with scaffold towers and wind loading are well known within the construction industry – this kind of incident simply should not happen.

“The fines imposed on Add Prop Limited and Atif Riaz should underline to everyone in the construction industry that the courts, and HSE, take failures to follow health and safety requirements extremely seriously.

“HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies and, where appropriate, directors who fail to do all that they should to keep workers and members of the public safe.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.

HSE | A joint venture working on the HS2 rail project has been fined after the driver of a 20-tonne tipper truck was injured when his vehicle fell off the edge of an excavation ramp.

The incident happened on 27 July 2021, at a site in Copthall North near Uxbridge, West London. The site was being run by SCS Railways, a venture set up by three major construction companies – Skanska Construction UK Limited, Costain Limited and Strabag AG.

The tipper truck fell approximately two metres and landed on the driver’s side. The man behind the wheel suffered a broken nose, cut hand, and a shoulder injury.

HSE inspectors visited the site after the incident and found that there were no signs on the haulage routes being used. They also identified that there was no edge protection in place to prevent vehicles going over the edge of the ramp, and that excavations adjacent to some of the vehicle routes had unsupported, vertical faces which were at risk of collapse.

The incident occurred in an area where SCS Railways was building a ‘cut and cover tunnel’. These are shallow tunnels built on the surface before being buried, with trees, plants, and shrubs planted on top. Material from the excavation was to be reused, removing the need for it to be taken off site.

SCS Railways had contracted another company – ACE Grab Hire and Haulage Limited (ACE) – to transport excavation material via 20-tonne tipper trucks to an area under the control of another joint venture working on HS2, Align JV. ACE drivers had been operating at the site for about two weeks by the time the incident occurred.

The subsequent HSE investigation found that on the morning of the incident, the SCS earthworks team changed their working area after an Align JV representative found the original material could not be used. This meant moving the excavator’s loading position and creating a new traffic route – but the change inadvertently left an unprotected edge on the bank above.

When the first ACE tipper truck driver used the higher-level bank instead of the intended new route, his vehicle slipped on the ramp. The next ACE driver followed the same path – and his vehicle veered off the edge of the bank.

SCS Railways, of 1 Hercules Way, Leavesden, Watford, pleaded guilty to contravening section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £400,000 with costs of £8,974.

HSE Inspector Gordon Carson said: “SCS had detailed procedures in place for much of the work at the site, including temporary works schemes for excavations.

“However, its failure to properly plan and promptly communicate changes in vehicle routes created unsafe conditions for the drivers of tipper trucks.

“The consequences of this could have been even more serious than they were for the driver involved in this incident.”

The investigation was carried out by HM inspectors Saif Deen and Gordon Carson, and the prosecution brought by HSE lawyer Andrew Siddall and paralegal Benjamin Stobbart.

HSE | The sole director of a London-based construction company has been sentenced after a 50-year-old worker was left with life-changing injuries.

James Harper, who was the sole director of Cavendish Basements Limited, failed to report the incident to Britain’s workplace regulator, as required under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2012.

The 50-year-old man had been working for Harper on a construction site on Vant Road, London. He had been levelling the ground in a three-metre deep excavation area. It had been raining and the excavated soil and other material was piled up by the side of the excavation. As he went about the job, the side of the excavation fell towards him, leaving him pinned against the wall.

Rather than wait for paramedics to arrive, Mr Harper and another person, moved the operative to a works van and took him to hospital. The injured workers solicitor reported the incident to the HSE two months later.

Inspectors from the HSE then made several visits to the construction site and found that the work being undertaken at the time of the incident and since failed to be suitably planned, managed and monitored. Specifically, regarding stability of structures, excavations, work at height and management/supervision arrangements, resulting in multiple enforcement notices being issued.

Mr. James Harper, of Ellison Road, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 by virtue of regulation 15(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. He was sentenced to six months, suspended for two years and was ordered to pay £4,608.32 costs and a £154 surcharge.

Following the hearing, HSE inspector Andrew Pipe said: “This was a wholly avoidable incident, where had appropriate measures been taken e.g. planning the work and shoring the excavation walls, then the life-changing injuries would not have occurred.

“Mr Harper’s decision to not report the incident, as required by law, resulted in other workers continuing to be put at risk on a daily basis and it was lucky that no one else was seriously injured.

“This case should remind everyone in the construction industry that HSE will not hesitate to take action against individuals and companies that fail to properly plan and manage serious risks on construction sites.”

This prosecution was bought by HSE enforcement lawyer Neenu Bains and paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.

HSE | An uninsured business owner from Lancashire has been given a suspended prison sentence after an employee suffered life changing injuries falling through a roof.

Gary Saville, 54, (trading as Bespoke Landscapes and Buildings) of Park Lane in Preesall, Poulton-Le-Fylde, was given an 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and told to complete 260 hours of unpaid work.

He had employed 31-year-old Jacob Black to replace skylights on a farm outbuilding in Pilling, Preston, on the 17 June 2024, but he fell through a fragile roof to the floor below while carrying out the job. Mr Black, also from Preesall, was taken by air ambulance to Preston Hospital and as a result of the incident, required two lung operations, collarbone surgery as well as sustaining multiple bone fractures.

The HSE’s investigation found that Saville had instructed Mr Black to walk across the fragile roof surface without any control measures, such as crawling boards and netting, in place to prevent or protect against a fall, ultimately leading to him falling through a fragile roof light.

Gary Saville of Park Lane, Preesall, Poulton Le Fylde, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of The Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and told to complete 260 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £700 costs at Warrington Magistrates Court on 16 June 2026.

At an earlier hearing on 10 February 2025, Saville also pleaded guilty to not having Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) at the time of the incident.

In a victim personal statement, Jacob Black said: “I have always been an active person and prior to the accident I cycled and used to enjoy walking with the family.

“Now I am unable to walk long distances and it has to be flat as I become very breathless.

“I also have restricted movement due to the communal fractures of the shoulder, which has caused poor movement in my right arm and makes everyday things, such as using a knife and fork and carrying items much more difficult.”

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Paul Taylor said: “Falls from height remain the leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries in UK workplaces and Mr Black is lucky to be alive.

“No control measures were in place to ensure the work could be carried out safely. To make matters worse, the man who employed him to do the job didn’t even have insurance in place should anything have happened.

“Nobody should be put at risk through the failures of those in charge.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Samantha Tiger and paralegal officer Stephen Grabe.

HSE | An advertising printing company in Cardiff has been fined £400,000 after a maintenance worker suffered fatal injuries while attempting to repair an industrial overhead door.

On 5 September 2022, 59-year-old Anthony (“Tony”) Webb, an employee of GNW 2023 Realisations Limited, was carrying out maintenance work on an electrically operated sectional overhead door at the company’s manufacturing facility in Cardiff.

Mr Webb was attempting to re-tension the door springs using an industrial wrench when the tool slipped. The spring unwound in an uncontrolled manner, causing the wrench to be ejected and strike him. He suffered catastrophic injuries and died the following day.

Investigating, the HSE found the company had failed to adequately maintain the electrically operated sectional overhead doors at the site despite two previous incidents involving failing doors that had injured employees.

The investigation also found the company had not implemented a programme of routine inspection or preventative maintenance, allowing the doors to deteriorate into a poor condition.

The HSE found that Mr Webb had repeatedly been permitted to carry out repairs to the doors despite not being suitably trained to undertake the work. The company had failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment, establish a safe system of work, or provide appropriate tools and equipment.

GNW 2023 Realisations Limited, of Avenue Industrial Estate, Croescadarn Close, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay £17,854 in costs.

In a victim personal statement, Tony’s wife Ewelina said: “It is still very raw, and I feel like I am on a roller coaster. I still find it difficult to talk about Tony without breaking down crying.

“Tony and I were together 24/7. Tony liked fixing and repairing things for friends and neighbours. He was a cheeky chap, everyone loved him. I still meet up with Tony’s friends who are my friends also. I find it difficult when we talk about things and Tony isn’t there to experience it.

“Every day when I wake up it is like a cloud hanging over me. Some days I just cry without knowing I am going to.”

HSE Inspector Georgina Bennett said: “This incident was entirely avoidable. The maintenance of industrial doors is a high-risk activity involving stored energy within door springs; it requires specialist equipment and should only be carried out by people who are properly trained.

“This company failed to recognise those risks, and despite two previous incidents involving overhead doors, had not carried out regular maintenance to detect and deal with the deterioration in their condition.

“Were it not for these failures, Tony Webb’s death could have been prevented. Our thoughts remain with his loved ones as they mourn his loss.

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Alan Hughes.

HSE | A landscaping and civil engineering company has been fined £125,000 after a man was seriously injured when struck by a reversing vehicle in Wolverhampton.

The 58-year-old employee of Jack Moody Landscaping and Civil Engineering Limited suffered life-changing injuries after a visiting flatbed truck reversed into him as he walked across the company’s site at Hollybush Farm on Warstone Road on 22 September 2017. The worker sustained serious head injuries, damage to his eyesight, and significant mental and psychological trauma.

The HSE’s investigation found that the workplace had not been organised to allow pedestrians and vehicles to circulate safely. There were no clearly demarcated pedestrian routes, no instructions for drivers on safe vehicle manoeuvring, and inadequate arrangements to ensure vehicles could reverse without risk to those on foot.

Nearly a quarter of all deaths involving workplace transport occur during reversing. Many other reversing accidents do not result in injury but cause costly damage to vehicles, equipment and premises.

HSE guidance on reversing advises to remove the need for reversing altogether by setting up one-way systems, for example drive-through loading and unloading positions. Where reversing is unavoidable, routes should be organised to minimise the need for reversing.

Jack Moody Landscaping and Civil Engineering Limited, of Hollybush Farm, Warstone Road, Shareshill, Wolverhampton, was found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court in November 2025. The company was fined £125,000 and ordered to pay £150,000 in costs at a sentencing hearing at the same court on 15 June 2026.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Laura Royales said: “This was a completely avoidable incident, caused by the company’s failure to put in place very straightforward measures to separate vehicles and pedestrians.

“Workplace transport incidents remain one of the most common causes of fatal injuries in this sector, and it is fortunate that this incident did not prove fatal.

“Employers must ensure their workplaces are properly organised to keep workers safe.”

HSE | A company providing clinical waste management services has been fined after an 18-year-old employee sustained serious injuries while loading a bin conveyor.

The young man was working for SRCL Limited at its site in Oldham on 21 November 2024, when his foot slipped into an unguarded conveyor channel. He sustained several serious fractures to his right leg.

The HSE’s investigation found that the company had failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and failed to provide suitable guarding on the bin conveyor.

SRCL Limited, of Indigo House, Sussex Avenue, Leeds, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £300,150, a victim surcharge of £2,000 and ordered to pay £3,931.85 in costs.

HSE Inspector Sam Eves, said: “A young man at the beginning of his working life was failed by this company.

“This incident could have so easily been avoided by properly assessing the risks and applying the correct control measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery.

“Companies should know that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and supported by Paralegal Officer Stephen Grabe.

HSE | A major gas leak at Fawley Oil Refinery in Hampshire has resulted in a £1 million fine, following an investigation and prosecution by the HSE.

On 8 November 2022, there was a partial collapse of a large steel tower at the Fawley Refinery, causing the structure to slew and rupture pipework, resulting in the uncontrolled release of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The incident led to a loss of containment of approximately 2,400kg of LPG over a 33-hour period. It took just over 30 minutes for around 400kg of the gas to be released following the collapse.

The HSE reports that workers were in the vicinity at the time of the collapse and were exposed to the risk of serious injury from falling debris, as well as the potential for burns had the gas ignited. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Emergency measures, including the use of water curtains, were implemented to reduce the spread of the extremely flammable vapour. It took approximately 33 hours to isolate the affected process and safely vent the remaining substances to the flare system.

The HSE’s investigation found that the structural collapse was caused by corrosion of the steel tower that had developed over many years. This corrosion had been identified as early as 2010, but the company failed to take appropriate action to control the risk.

ESSO Petroleum Company Limited, of Ermyn House, Ermyn Way, Leatherhead, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £1 million and ordered to pay £12,277 in costs.

Amanda Huff, an Inspector in HSE’s specialist Chemicals, Explosives & Major Hazards Division, said: “This incident resulted in the uncontrolled release of a large quantity of flammable gas, which exposed workers to very real and potentially life-threatening risks.

“The underlying cause was a failure to properly manage the integrity of plant and equipment, despite corrosion being identified many years earlier.

“Workers and the wider public have every right to assume that sites processing large quantities of highly flammable chemicals are being properly managed – and it is vital for companies to make sure robust systems are in place to maintain critical infrastructure safely.

“This incident could have been far worse, and today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of the breaches our investigation uncovered.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Andrew Siddall and paralegal officer Stephen Grabe.

HSE | A leisure facilities management company has been fined after a man was electrocuted while playing football in Portsmouth.

Albert Xhediku, 34, had been playing five-a-side with his friends on the all-weather pitch at Mountbatten Leisure centre on 17 January 2016. After the ball went out of play Albert climbed a fence to collect it. As he did so, he came into contact with a floodlight which delivered the fatal shock. Despite efforts by his friends to resuscitate him, later that day he was pronounced dead at the local hospital.

The HSE’s investigation found the incident arose from worn and faulty wiring on the floodlight which Parkwood Community Leisure Ltd had failed to properly inspect and maintain. It was also found that this failing had been present for several years and no action had been taken to repair the equipment. This was despite a previous incident being reported to the leisure centre a month before Albert’s death when an off-duty police officer suffered an electric shock from the same equipment.

Parkwood Community Leisure Ltd of The Stables, Duxbury Park, Duxbury Hall Road, Chorley, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at a previous hearing. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £40,000.

HSE inspector Dominic Goacher said: “This tragic incident should never have happened. What followed was a long and complex investigation.

“We found that the electrical system of the floodlight that resulted in Albert’s death had already been identified by Parkwood as being in poor condition, yet they failed to take action to remedy the faults.

“This case is a stark reminder that effective systems must be put in place to properly assess and manage the risks posed by ageing infrastructure on their sites.

“As always, our thoughts remain with Albert’s family and friends and we hope the conclusion of this case can offer them some comfort.”

HSE | A Bristol-based waste and recycling business has been fined after a worker was drawn into machinery and suffered life changing-injuries.

On 27 January 2024 a worker undertaking duties at Bateman Skips Ltd waste and recycling facility in Bristol slipped, making contact with the unguarded tail-end of a conveyor belt that was carrying waste materials.

The worker was attempting to clear a blockage that had occurred on the plant when their arm was dragged into the machine causing crush injuries that resulted in bone fractures, severe lacerations to the arm, nerve damage and a fractured rib.

The HSE’s investigation found that Bateman Skips Ltd failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees by failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery and by failing to implement a safe system of work for clearing a blockages within its waste recovery facility.

Bateman Skips Ltd, of Broadmead Lane Industrial Estate, Bristol, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It was fined £64,666 and ordered to pay £4,657 in costs.

In a victim personal statement, the injured worker said: “I used to enjoy riding my bike, playing darts and snooker with my sons, working on cars and I am now unable to do any of these tasks. This has been the most traumatic thing I have ever experienced both physically and mentally, and I know it will continue to affect me for the rest of my life.”

HSE Inspector Laura Artosi said: “Workers coming into contact with moving machinery is one of the most common causes of workplace fatalities in Great Britain. Quite often, this relates to poorly guarded machines and the lack of a robust health and safety management system.

“This wholly preventable incident caused this person and their family physical and emotional pain which has been affecting their lives ever since.

“Employers have a duty to create a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. In this instance, had Bateman Skips Ltd ensured guarding was installed to the tail-end of the conveyor machine and had the company implemented a safe system of work for clearing a blockage within their waste and recycling facility, this incident would not have occurred”.

This HSE prosecution was brought before the Court by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Jonathan Bambro and Paralegal Officer Gabrielle O’Sullivan.

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