Two companies have been fined after a man fell through a fragile rooflight and impaled his leg on machinery below during over cladding work at a factory in Keighley,

A.T. Lee Properties Limited and LJH Property Limited were fined a combined total of more than £95,000. Directors for each firm were also given conditional discharges and ordered to pay prosecution costs.

The victim suffered leg injuries after falling at Cirteq Ltd in Keighley, on 8 July 2022.

He had been over-cladding an existing asbestos cement roof with two other operatives when he stepped onto a fragile rooflight, causing him to fall through and narrowly miss a machine operator working below.

Firefighters were called to assist in rescuing the worker, who had landed on machinery, impaling his leg. Despite the horrific circumstances, he sustained relatively minor injuries.

An HSE investigation found that principal contractor A.T. Lee Properties Limited failed to ensure the works were properly planned, and that neither they nor their sub-contractor, LJH Property Limited, had effective preventative and protective measures in place to control the risks associated with roof work.

They also failed to ensure that the correct equipment and tools were in place to undertake the work safely.

A.T. Lee Properties Limited, of Skipton, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £47,783 and ordered to pay £2,386 in costs at Leeds Magistrates’ Court.

Company director Neil Cryer also pleaded guilty and  received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £2,369 in costs.

LJH Property Limited, of  Shipley pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £47,818 and ordered to pay £2,518 in costs.

Company director Luke Hudson also pleaded guilty and received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £23,69 in costs.

After falling through the rooflight he was impaled on machinery below

HSE principal inspector Paul Thompson, who investigated the incident, said: “People working on the roof and those working below within the factory were placed at serious risk. Had the man just a short distance either side of where he was impaled, this could have been a wholly different outcome.

“Work at height continues to be the leading cause of workplace fatalities, and had this work been planned, managed, and monitored to a sufficient standard by all parties involved, then this incident should not have occurred.”