A toy distributor in Lancashire and a builder have appeared in court after a worker plunged to his death in the workplace.
39-year-old Craig Gray from Fleetwood had been assisting with the removal of debris from a warehouse roof at Halsall Toys Europe Ltd in July 2012 when he through a fragile plastic panel, falling a total of nine metres.
Both the firm and builder David Plant were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) last week (20th March) after an investigation discovered that there had been no safety measures put in place to ensure that the work could be carried out safely.
Unemployed builder Mr Plant had been called on by Halsall Toys to remove debris from the gutters in the warehouse, Preston Crown Court heard. The gutters had been overflowing and although the firm had arranged for the work to be done, it did not carry out any checks to ensure that he was competent in doing so.
Mr Plant and Mr Gray had climbed onto the roof with no preparation or planning for the activity issued in advance. They had no harnesses or other equipment and the incident happened four days into the work taking place. Mr Gray died at the scene.
Halsall Toys Europe Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to make sure that Mr Gray was safe when carrying out the work and was fined £200,000 along with costs of £10,483, which will go towards the cost of the prosecution.
60-year-old David Plant was handed a 6 month prison sentence, which was suspended for 12 months, after he was found guilty of breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 for failing ensure that work was being carried out safely.
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