A company has been fined after a worker fell from a roof and was seriously injured during demolition work in London.

Montway Ltd of Batchworth House, Batchworth Place, Church Street, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 1JE pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It was fined £144,000 with over £43,606 in costs.

Southwark Crown Court heard two workers were working on the roof of a two-storey detached house at 17 Basing Hill, Golders Green on 25 February 2013.

One of the employees, Romanian labourer Ioan Vancea, fell around five metres from the partly demolished roof to the ground and sustained serious injuries including a fractured spine. He was in an induced coma for two weeks and remained in hospital for three months.

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An inspection of the site by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) two weeks after the incident found discovered unsupervised demolition work was still being carried out.

Other serious matters were found including asbestos which had been removed from the house and was found in a pile by a neighbouring property's hedge and in broken pieces mixed in with other debris. HSE immediately served Enforcement Notices to protect workers and members of the public.

The company originally pleaded not guilty to the charges, but changed their plea and sought a Newton Hearing to determine numerous issues it disputed.

HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said: "Montway Ltd sought a Newton hearing so they could dispute numerous issues in front of a District Judge. They were unsuccessful and the Judge's ruling confirmed she was satisfied that their approach towards the welfare of their employees was lax and casual, and it was their overall poor management of health and safety that directly led to this incident.

"Mr. Vancea's injuries were life changing and he could easily have been killed."

"This serious incident would have been avoided if scaffolding had been provided. Montway Ltd's site documents even identified it was needed."

(LM/CD)