Safety breaches see roofing boss jailed
December 05, 2007
The head of a Welsh roofing contractor has been jailed following an accident that led to the death of an employee.
Christopher Smith, director of Wrexham Roof Services, was sentenced to two and a half years in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter, a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and intent to pervert the course of justice.
The case related to an incident in which Mr Smith's employee, Paul Alker, fell from a skylight while working on a roof in Wrexham's town centre.
Mr Alker broke a collarbone in the fall but later died.
HSE inspector Debbie John said: "Mr Smith clearly knew that he should have provided safety harnesses for people working on roofs, but chose only to do this after the incident which led to the death of Mr Alker."
She added: "Figures show that in 2006/07, 45 people have died and more than 3000 suffered a serious injury after a fall from height in the workplace. It remains the most common cause of fatal injury in the workplace, but the risk does not just apply to those working at great height."