Risk-taking roofers hit with fines

Two men working on the roof of a seven-storey building, were caught on camera taking risks while completing a job, and were penalised following intervention from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Jake Clarke and Aaron Hepworth, directors of Enviroply Roofing Ltd, were completing a contract at the King Street townhouse, located in the centre of Manchester, when office workers in the building opposite noticed that they were working without any safety equipment. Coincidentally, the office workers were taking a course in health and safety when they spotted the pair.

The two men had been working for around 30 minutes without any safety equipment, with Hepworth walking along a beam to his colleague, before returning. Manchester Magistrates Court was informed that the men were working on their last day for a contractor, and had been asked if they would install a waterproof membrane on the roof. The job would have taken just one hour, but the pair decided to take a 'shortcut' so that they could complete the work faster.

The HSE received the photographs and immediately rushed to the site and ordered the workers to get down from the roof. The prosecution said that both men had taken significant risks with their lives, and as experienced roofers they should have known better. The company was fined £13,300, while Clarke was fined £1,100 and Hepworth received a fine of £2,100.

The prosecutor, Craig Morris, said that the pair had cooperated with the HSE and had demonstrated an interest in further health and safety training. PPE and other equipment should be utilised where necessary for roof work.