A roofing firm has been fined for safety failings after a worker fell seven metres from a roof in York.

Mitchell Roofing Ltd of Derwent Road, Malton was found guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

It was fined £10,000 with £1,355 in costs.

York Magistrates Court heard Mitchell Roofing was contracted to replace existing rooflights at Monk Bridge Construction Co Ltd in Elvington.


However, while work was being carried out, a worker slipped and fell some seven metres through the inner roof sheet and sustained a fractured skull.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that there was no risk assessment in place for the job, and no precautions had been taken to prevent falls from the edge of the roof or through various fragile elements.

The defendant had previously clad a new building on the site without incident, using appropriate precautions, but the minor work of replacing the panels in an existing roof was not planned, and no precautions were followed.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Julian Franklin said: "Basic precautions for roof work and better planning of the job should have been applied. Even short duration work on fragile roofs should be properly assessed and managed."

(LM)