04/02/2015
A building firm and its owner have been sentenced at Preston Crown Court, following an incident in 2011 where a man died as a result of falling through a roof.
Peter Mawson Ltd, a building and joinery firm, pleaded guilty in December 2014 to Corporate Manslaughter and a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. The company was fined £200,000 for Corporate Manslaughter and £20,000 for Health and Safety.
Peter Mawson, owner of the company, also pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act and was sentenced to eight months in prison (suspended for two years), 200 hours community service and prosecution costs of £31,504.77.
The Court also imposed a Publicity Order requiring the company to advertise what happened on its website and to take out a half page spread in the local newspaper.
At around 3:15pm on Tuesday 25 October 2011 emergency services attended West Cumberland Farmers LTD, Lindal, Ulverston, following a report that a man had fallen through a roof. The man, 42 year old Jason Pennington, had been working on the roof and had fallen through the skylight from a height of approximately 7.6 meters onto a concrete floor. He was taken to Furness General Hospital where he died a short time later
DS Paul Yates for Cumbria Constabulary said:
“This has been a long and complex investigation, and we have worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive to establish what happened on that tragic day."
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