Roofer Fined and Jailed After Being Photographed by a Member of the Public

A Roofer was sentenced to 6 months in prison and fined over £3,000 including costs after being witnessed balanced on scaffolding over 90 feet in the air. The Roofer was witnessed and photographed by members of the public in a nearby office; they also reported it to the HSE.

Credit: MEN Syndication

The HSE rushed to site and questioned the Roofer, who admitted that he had climbed up onto the scaffold to complete the job. He stated that the building project was three weeks behind, and that instead of asking the scaffolder to make the area safe, he climbed onto the scaffold to do the job quicker. Two other operatives on the same site were also prosecuted three months later after being caught breaching Health and Safety Regulations.

After the case, the investigating HSE stated the following “It is a matter of pure luck that no-one was injured or killed by working at height in the manner seen in this image provided by a member of the public. “I would like to thank the person who reported their concern to us as they have been instrumental in saving the lives of Mr Mulholland and arguably anyone below him at that time.”

In this case the operative was prosecuted and fined personally; the breach was witnessed by a member of the public and reported to the HSE. This could also occur for breaches witnessed on social networks that are reported to the HSE.

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