Skip to content

Roofers carried out nightwork with phone torches

HSE A roof of a pale blue house with workers on top of it, three of the four are wearing hi-viz clothing and the fourth is wearing a dark red jumper. A ladder is seen propped against one side of the house along with things lengths of woodHSE
An inspector said there was "no excuse for putting workers lives at risk"

A roofing firm has been fined and its director handed a suspended prison sentence after workers' lives were put at risk during a Surrey roof renovation.

Workers were seen operating without any scaffolding or edge protection on the roof of a house on Flint Hill, Dorking, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Weather Master Roofing Limited and company director Jack Avanzo, also known as Jack Avenzo, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Monday, the regulator said.

A HSE spokesperson said workers were put at risk of falling from height and there were also no measures, such as harnesses, to mitigate a fall.

HSE A night time picture showing a house in darkness and on the roof several people can be seen holding lights in their hands to illuminate different areas of the roof.HSE
Workers were seen using the lights from their phones and torches while working on the property at night

They added: "Workers were also observed using the lights from their phones and torches while working on the property at night."

Weather Master Roofing Limited was served with an improvement notice in February 2023, the HSE said, in the same month the workers were seen.

The notice required the company to improve how it planned, carried out, supervised and monitored the work taking place on the roof, but HSE said the company failed to comply with it.

HSE inspector Stephanie Hickford-Smith said: "Falls from height are still the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain.

"Support and practical guidance on how to comply with the law is publicly available, free of charge. There is no excuse for putting workers lives at risk."

HSE said Weather Master Roofing Limited, of Muswell Hill, Broadway, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Work at Height Regulations 2005 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs as well as a victim surcharge of £1,600.

Mr Avanzo also pleaded guilty to breaching the relevant laws, the HSE said.

He was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

He was also disqualified from being a director for three years and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.

Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook, and on X. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

Related internet links