'˜Accidents could have led to injuries, or even death'

A Health and Safety Executive inspection into Skyline Building Services Limited of Leyland Mill Lane revealed “extremely poor” standards of safety.

The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4095 after pleading guilty to breaching safety regulations.

Skyline Building Services Limited was responsible for managing work at a house renovation at Fletsand Road, Wilmslow.

During the inspection of the site it was found that standards of safety, relating in particular to work at height, slips and trips and tidiness, were extremely poor.

Edge protection was found to be missing or removed, rendering workers vulnerable to falls from height.

Debris was not removed from the site but tipped at the rear, burying the footings of scaffolding and making access unsafe.

Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard the supervision by management at the site was inadequate, resulting in a failure by all workers to deal with the risks present.

During the inspection, a Prohibition Notice (PN) was served immediately halting all work on site except to reduce the risk of falls from height, and an Improvement Notice was served to clear excessive waste.

Skyline Building Services Limited, of Foundry Gate, pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 18(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and Regulation 4 (1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Speaking after the hearing the Health and Safety Executive’s Inspector Ian Betley said: “Numerous failings were found on this site, including serious risks of falls from height and site tidiness that could have resulted in major injuries or even death.

“Skyline Building Services Limited showed scant regard for the safety of the workers that they were responsible for and it was fortunate that nobody was seriously injured or killed.”