06/10/2015
A member of the public was so horrified by the unsafe working conditions of two scaffolders over a busy London street she recorded footage of the two of them and sent it to HSE.
The two men were working 15 metres off the pavement, without any safety equipment on incomplete scaffolding, with no provisions made to prevent heavy material falling and hitting members of the public in the street.
Work Stopped due to Health and Safety
HSE officers visited the site twice and served a Prohibition Notice ordering work to be stopped until the scaffold was made safe. However, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that Greg Pearson, owner of Pearson’s Scaffolding, ignored this and other warnings, carrying on regardless.
The court also heard Pearson refused to respond when asked to produce documents for inspection during the investigation, hindering the HSE’s efforts to ensure future work was carried out safely at other sites. Pearsons Scaffolding’s involvement at the site only ended when a second Prohibition Notice was served and the project’s Principal Contractor decided to take on another scaffolder to complete the work.
Sentence
Mr Pearson subsequently pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (6(3), 10(1)) and was given two suspended prison sentences of 10 weeks to run concurrently, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £80.
A spokesperson for the HSE said the case sent out a welcome message that the Courts would prosecute anyone putting the lives of workers and the public at risk, even if no injuries or fatalities resulted from the negligence.
If you have been involved in a Health and Safety incident and need an emergency response team on hand to advise you, please call us on 0207 993 6960.