A building contractor has been jailed for safety failings after a house in Brighton partially collapsed following a basement excavation.

Glen Peters (trading as Brow Builders) of Woodingdean, Brighton, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 25(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and Regulation 7 of the RIDDOR Regulations 2013.

He was sentenced to five months imprisonment for count one and two months imprisonment for count two to run concurrently, along with £7,000 in costs.

Hove Crown Court heard how Mr Peters undermined the structural integrity of the house by digging out the basement. He then failed to act on the advice of a structural engineer on how to remedy the situation, resulting in the gable wall partially collapsing and the ground floor collapsing into the basement. Adjacent properties also had to be evacuated and the area cordoned off as there were concerns members of the public living nearby and passing through the area were at risk.

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A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the property had bungeroosh walls, common to buildings in the Brighton area which were built in the mid-18th to 19th century. The walls are built with a mixture of rubble, timber, pebbles, stones and flint in a lime mix mortar set between shuttering.

HSE said the make-up of these walls makes working on this type of building more challenging in terms of structural stability, meaning that those doing so must fully understand what they are dealing with.

The investigation also found that Mr Peters failed to report the incident to HSE as a dangerous occurrence in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013.

HSE principal inspector Emma Stiles said: "Basement work must be properly planned to ensure the structural integrity of the building throughout the construction work.

"When this type of work is done badly, workers and members of public are at significant risk of serious injury or death. In addition, we cannot underestimate the impact on the homeowners when their properties are extensively damaged."

(LM/MH)