A PENARTH man was sentenced for breaches of health and safety after an investigation into two incidents in which two workers were seriously injured falling through roofs.
Billy Hewitt, a worker at Mitie Tilley Roofing Limited, fractured his pelvis after falling through a factory roof in Newcastle.
In a separate case, a 24-year-old labourer employed by RM Scaffolding broke his femur after falling through the roof of a building in Swansea while working on a project run by Mitie Tilley Roofing.
In total for the two incidents, Mitie Tilley Roofing was fined £881,000.
Paul Robinson, a business partner at RM Scaffolding, was also prosecuted for one of the incidents.
Robinson, of Laburnum Way, Penarth, will pay more than £20,000 as well as doing community service.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated both incidents.
On November 11, 2019, Mr Hewitt fractured his pelvis, left wrist and eye socket after falling through the roof of a factory in Throckley, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Mr Hewitt, 60, had been replacing a skylight when he fell and landed on the concrete floor seven metres below. He was in hospital for three weeks.
On June 3, 2019, a scaffold labourer was crossing a fragile roof when he fell through a skylight at a unit at Plasmarl Industrial Estate in Swansea.
The 24-year-old landed on his back approximately 20 feet on the floor below. He fractured his femur and suffered a blood clot in one of his main arteries, which required long-term medication.
For the incident on November 11, 2019, Mitie Tilley Roofing, of London Bridge Street, London, was found guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, following a two-week trial in April.
They were fined £575,000 and ordered to pay £84,940.08 in costs.
For the incident on June 3, 2019, Mitie Tilley Roofing pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
They were fined £306,000 and ordered to pay £27,410.63 in costs.
For the June 3 incident, Robinson pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
At Newcastle Crown Court on December 5, he was sentenced to 120 hours community service, to be served within 12 months.
He was also ordered to pay £20,428.73 in costs.
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