Industry news
Camera caught man unsafe on roof
Posted Wed, 13 Jun 2012
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has successfully prosecuted a man for failing to enforce safety measures after he was caught working on a roof with a disc cutter.
A camera filmed Anthony Nightingale and a colleague perching on the ridge of a residential property's roof while conducting work to a tile with a power tool. Mr Nightingale, who is the director of his own roofing company, 3A Roofing Ltd, was taken to court because he failed to set up a safety strategy to prevent harm if they had both fallen.
The HSE were alerted to the issue when a worried passer-by reported the scene after they saw the precarious work taking place at Dennington, Suffolk in July last year.
On 29 May Ipswich Magistrates' Court heard that 34-year-old Mr Nightingale did not employ the use of an appropriate roof ladder to access the roof ridge, but he and his employee were caught on camera climbing across tiles instead.
Mr Nightingale, of Copdock, Ipswich, pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and as a result was given a fine of £1,300. The court also ordered him to pay £3,000 towards costs, as well as a victim surcharge costing him £15.
Copyright Press Association 2012