A company has been fined after a contractor fell through a lift shaft during work to fit mezzanine floors at a factory in Surrey.

M & L Installers Ltd pleaded guilty to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations, Regulation 6(3). It was fined £20,000 with over £9,165 in costs.

Guildford Crown Court heard that the Lincoln-based company were working to install a mezzanine floor at a factory in Sunbury-on-Thames on 13 January 2015.

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A contractor, employed by the company, was working on the floor when he stepped backwards through a hole where a lift was due to be installed. He fell over 3.5 metres onto a concrete floor. His injuries included a severe brain injury, resulting in him being hospitalised for two months and unable to return to work since.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the company failed to guard the hole for the lift or board it up preventing anyone from falling through.

HSE Inspector, Amanda Huff, said: "The contractor's injuries were life changing and he could have easily have been killed. This serious incident and devastation could have been avoided if basic safe guards had been put in place."

(LM/MH)