A North Yorkshire-based company has been prosecuted after an employee fell through a roof while working to install a flue system for a biomass heating system at a farm.

Duncan Plumbing Heating and Electrics Ltd of Rudgate Business Park, Tockwith, North Yorkshire, has been fined £32,000 with over £2,424 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Beverley Magistrates court heard how a worker was installing the flue system at the farm in North Yorkshire on 27 March 2015.


He had attempted to work from a ladder at the side of the outbuilding but when this proved ineffectual, he resorted to climbing onto the roof to complete the works. However, while working on the roof, the worker fell around two metres through the fragile cement sheet and suffered injuries including broken bones in the left ankle.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the company had failed to adequately plan the installation of the heating system and the necessary work at height. In addition, the investigation also the company failed to provide suitable work at height equipment such as a mobile elevated work platform, edge protection, crawl boards, a roof ladder or scaffolding.

HSE inspector James Harvey said: "Work at height, such as roof work, is a high-risk activity that accounts for a high proportion of workplace serious injuries and fatalities each year.

"This case highlights the importance of following well-known industry guidance to plan and assess the work at height requirements needed to complete the work safely."

(LM)