A North East building contractor has been fined £20,000 after a bricklayer fell through a barn roof in Northumberland and broke his back. The 24-year-old was part of a team working for Len Smith & Son Building Contractors Limited, carrying out repairs at East Fleetham Farm in Seahouses on February 5 last year.
Fall through roof sheet
The man stepped on a polycarbonate roof sheet and fell around eight feet to the concrete floor below. He suffered two broken vertebrae in his back, as well as a fractured sternum which required surgery.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to ensure adequate measures were in place to protect employees or contractors when working at height. There was no risk assessment or safe system of work for the activity being undertaken.
Court sentence
Len Smith & Son Building Contractors Limited, of East House, Meadow Lane, Beadnell, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £5,744 in costs by North Tyneside Magistrates' Court last week.
HSE warning
Following the sentencing, HSE inspector Richard McMullen said: “The outcome of this case could have been much worse, but the man’s injuries were still very serious. Falls from height continue to be the leading cause of workplace fatalities in Great Britain, with 31 people losing their lives in the past year.
“The construction industry remains the sector that accounts for the greatest number of workers killed each year. These figures do not include those individuals that have sustained serious, life changing injuries in falls. We will prosecute those that fail to protect people while at work.”
Falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace death and injury, with the latest statistics from HSE showing that they account for over a quarter of all work-related deaths in 2025/26. HSE guidance states what an employer must do to protect their employees from falls from height, including making sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people.
