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Jail sentence for old-school roofer

17 Jun 19 A roofing contractor who expected his crew to work the old-fashioned way, free of fall prevention measures, has been sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for 12 months.

"Sure, they'll be fine..."
"Sure, they'll be fine..."

Llandudno Magistrates’ Court heard how in April 2018 workers were spotted working on the roof of a two-storey house in Wrexham with no edge protection. A prohibition notice was issued preventing further work until control measures were put in place but the contractor chose to ignore it and carried on working.

An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that Asa Hamilton allowed his workers to be exposed to a continuing risk of falling from the roof, with potential for fatal or major injury.

Asa Hamilton of Linthorpe Road, Buckley, Flintshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 for failing to provide precautions to prevent falls from height and Sections 33 (1) (e) and 33 (1) g of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to comply with a prohibition notice.

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As well as the suspended prison sentence, Mr Hamilton was also orders to do 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay a contribution of £4,000 towards the costs.

HSE principal inspector Paul Harvey said after the hearing: “This was a serious incident and it is fortunate nobody was injured as a result of it. There are well known standards in the construction industry for controlling risks from falls from height. Even when the dutyholder was served a prohibition notice to stop the activity they failed to take the appropriate action.

“HSE will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those that disregard enforcement notices when served or fail to take appropriate measures to control well known risks.”

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