Worker falls down service shaft

A company in Derbyshire has been fined after a worker fell thirteen metres down a service riser shaft.

Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard how a 36-year-old worker, who was from Romania, was dismantling falsework (a form of temporary structure) in a building that was under construction at Fletcher Development, De Montfort University, Leicester.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 15 June 2015 found that there was an unsafe system of work and inadequate supervision of workers.

David Ashley Construction Limited, of Lydford Road, Alfreton, Derbyshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,776.