A building contractor has been forced to pay out £548,000 following the death of a worker who fell through a roof in Wales.

Thomas Whitmarsh, 21 from West Yorkshire, was working on the construction of Bangor’s Menai Centre for the principal contractor, Watkin Jones & Son Ltd. on 29 May 2007.

Mr Whitmarsh fell nearly six metres through an unguarded opening in the roof and sustained serious head injuries.

He had been making a gradual recovery following several months’ treatment in hospital, but contracted acute meningitis as his brain injury had left him open to a higher degree of infection. He died on 17 December 2009.

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The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Watkin Jones & Son Ltd for failing to ensure Mr Whitmarsh's safety.

The court was told the protection around the opening in the roof had been removed and that the company had failed to provide an alternative.

Watkin Jones was found guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Following the hearing, HSE inspector Chris Wilcox said: "Poor co-ordination between the principal and the roofing contractors on this particular part of the site led to the edge protection being removed from around the roof opening without alternative safeguards in place."

In 2011/12 49 workers lost their lives on construction sites in the UK, with falls from height being a major cause. It remains one of the most common causes of death in the construction industry.

(IT/GK)