Worker falls from scaffolding

A construction firm has been fined £2,500 after a joiner was badly injured in a fall from scaffolding in Stirlingshire.

Robert Bone, employed by ACUR Joiners Ltd of Kilsyth, was helping to build six detached houses on land in Thornhill as part of a development undertaken by Hadden Construction Ltd.

The 25-year-old sustained severe injuries including broken bones in his back and a fractured breast bone when he fell nearly 10ft from the scaffolding on January 25 after he failed to notice two boards were missing from the platform when he stepped backwards.

The incident came after Hadden carried out a statutory weekly inspection on the scaffolding and deemed that it was in good order on January 18.

The firm has now been fined £2,500 at Stirling Sheriff Court, after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety laws.

An HSE investigation revealed the company failed to ensure scaffolding on the site was maintained in a safe condition and that only trained people carried out alterations to it.

HSE inspector Isabelle Martin said: "It is important that those responsible for managing construction sites maintain the scaffolding to ensure that there is a safe working platform at all times."

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