A construction firm based in Berkshire has been fined £10,000 after three of its employees were photographed on a roof and ladder platform in Windsor without any safety measures in place.

Able Building & Roofing Services Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at a two-storey house in Windsor between 16 and 18 October 2013.

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The firm was also ordered to pay £986 in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Reading Magistrates' Court heard that the householder, who hired the firm for roofing work, was so concerned by the obvious dangers faced by the workers, he took photos and sent them to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The photographs showed workers using an unguarded ladder platform that had not been erected properly, and also working on top of the main roof without any means of preventing falls.

HSE told the court that the company had failed to plan the work at height, which is inherently hazardous, leaving their workers without adequate protection against falls of up to six metres.

(CD/JP)