HSE: Latest Prosecution Results: March Edition

Principal contractor sentenced for unsafe excavation work

A principal contractor has been sentenced after he was found to have supervised unsafe excavation work at a site in Denton, which put workers in danger and rendered the neighbouring property unstable. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how between 2019 and 2020 Mustapha Matib had employed several groundworkers to excavate land at Gibraltar Lane, Denton in preparation for the construction of a family home. An inspection was carried out at the site in August 2020 after neighbours raised significant concerns, work was stopped when serious fall risks and potential collapse were identified.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that as principal contractor Mr Matib had failed to prepare a construction phase plan, with risk assessments and method statements detailing how the work would be safely carried out. He also failed to appoint a site manager with suitable skills, knowledge and experience to plan, manage and monitor the work; and ensure the health, safety, and welfare of those carrying out the work or others who may be affected by their actions.

Inspectors also identified a large, deep and unprotected excavation, which gave rise to a foreseeable fall risk. In addition, excavations were not shored or suitably battered back to prevent the risk of collapse. Personal protective equipment had not been provided and some workers were working barefoot on site. The site was not adequately secured to prevent unauthorised persons from entering and a neighbouring property had been undermined with parts of the property at risk of collapse due to the excavation work.

Mustapha Matibof Allerton Road, Bradford pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was sentenced to sixteen weeks imprisonment suspended for twelve months, ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and pay costs of £5,673.

Livestock auction mart fined after fatal incident involving a dairy bull

A livestock auction mart has been fined after an employee was fatally injured when he was struck by a dairy bull he was helping to load it on to a lorry.

Preston Magistrates’ Court heard that on 25 August 2017, the employee was helping to move a bull and four cows towards a waiting lorry at the premises of his employer Gisburn Auction Marts Ltd. Whilst trying to load the livestock into the lorry, the bull turned and attacked the employee, causing fatal injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there weren’t any suitable refuges or barriers within the loading area for those handling the livestock to shelter behind, if for example, cattle became fractious.

Gisburn Auction Marts Ltd of The Auction Mart, Gisburn, Clitheroe, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,819

Farmer sentenced after child fatally injured in fall from farm vehicle

The mother of a four-year-old boy who fell from a farm vehicle and was run over sustaining fatal injuries has called for a change in attitude in agriculture.

Today, farmer Brian Nutter was given a suspended prison sentence following the death of his nephew Harry Lee.

Wigan Magistrates’ Court heard that on 8 July 2019, Harry was riding on the cab footplate of a telescopic handler driven by his uncle Brian at a farm in Newchurch-in-Pendle. As the vehicle turned into a field, Harry fell from the footplate and was fatally crushed beneath the wheels.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found there were insufficient measures in place to ensure the safety of children on the farm. The Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998, prohibits children under the age of 13 from riding on, or operating, vehicles used in agricultural operations. Furthermore no-one, including children, should ride on the footplate of any agricultural machine.

Brian Nutter of Tynedale Shippon, Newchurch-in-Pendle, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was given a 26-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months, a community order, which included 250 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs of £5,154.

Mum Sarah Nutter said: “Losing a child at any age is a traumatic experience, but losing a child in such deeply tragic circumstances is completely life changing. The event of Harry’s death has and will have a lasting effect that I, and my family will never get over.

“Farming is a lifestyle and a way of life. If we could go back and make different decisions and do things differently, we would certainly do so. We have had to learn the hard way.

“The dangers to children on farms are often not appreciated when you live with them, but they should be at the forefront of all our minds every single day.

“I hope the effects of Harry’s accident will change the attitude of people living on farms and make them think twice about the dangers their children are exposed to and how easily accidents can be avoided.”

Dad Martin Lee said: “Harry, so passionate about farming even at four-years-old, was very much my legacy, the person who would take on the farm.

“Always smiling, Harry had a love for life that brought joy to all those around him and certainly lived his life to the full.

“He was a loving, caring, kind and bright child, full of affection for his family. It is a tragedy that he was needlessly taken from us too soon.

“His death has traumatised and deeply impacted the whole family.”

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Shellie Bee said: “This is a deeply sad and upsetting incident for all involved. Harry, a four-year-old child, lost his life in what was a wholly avoidable incident caused by a failure to protect him from farm work activities. Harry should not have been allowed to ride on farm machinery.

“Farms can appear to be exciting places, but they are busy workplaces with moving machinery and vehicles, livestock, chemicals and many other significant hazards.
Each year, children are killed and many more are seriously injured as a result of farming work. Often the child is a close relative to those managing and running the farm.

“The best way to keep children safe, particularly young children, is to keep them out of the farm workplace altogether. If taken onto the farm, to working areas, this must be carefully planned. The child should be fully supervised by a responsible adult who is not engaged in any other activity.”

She added: “In addition to the general health and safety duties to protect children. There is specific law that prohibits children under the age of 13 years from riding on or operating agricultural vehicles used in the course of agricultural operations.

“Harry’s family hope that their story will make the wider farming community take steps to fully protect the safety of any child who may be on the farm.”

Spring manufacturer sentenced after worker severs fingers

A spring manufacturing company has been fined after an employee had two fingers of his right hand severed whilst attempting to lubricate a bandsaw. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how on 2 October 2019, a labourer employed by Hanson Springs Ltd in Rochdale was assisting in the cutting back department to cut sections of steel spring using a vertical bandsaw when the blade began to smoke and squeal. The worker decided to replace the blade, as on inspection it appeared heavily worn. He attempted to lubricate the new blade, by pressing a cardboard tube of wax onto the exposed section of it whilst it ran. The tube was drawn in, in turn drawing in the worker’s hand, severing the middle two fingers at the first and second knuckle respectively.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that although the worker had received training from the supervisor in using the machine, it was of poor quality, no formal competency assessment had been carried out, nor was he certain that he could use the machine unsupervised. Furthermore, despite lubrication of the blades in this manner being standard practice within the company, it was unnecessary as the machine was self-lubricating. The worker had been shown how to do this during training in order to minimise the time needed for the blade to become greased using the inbuilt lubrication system and therefore operational. Operational management was not aware of this dangerous practice and therefore no safe method of lubricating the blades had been provided.

Hanson Springs Ltd of Hanson Place, Gorrells Way, Rochdale, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,394.

Company fined after worker suffered fall from height

Infiniti Roofing and Construction Ltd has been sentenced for breaches of safety regulations after an employee fell through a gap in scaffolding and sustained multiple injuries whilst working on a building at Havers Hill, Eastfield, Scarborough. York Magistrates’ Court heard that, on 15 November 2017, a 20-year-old labourer who was working on the roof, fell three metres through a gap in the scaffolding onto an office roof below causing injuries to his left wrist and hand.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that when the labourer was moving insulation panels on the roof, he stumbled and fell through the gap. Although Infiniti Roofing and Construction Ltd had taken measures to reduce the risk of a fall the scaffolding did not fully extend along the roof in the area where the insulation panels were stacked and stored. The fall caused the labourer to sustain a dislocation to his left wrist and a broken bone in his hand which  has required him to undergo several operations.

Infiniti Roofing and Construction Ltd of Cayton Low Road, Scarborough, North Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company has been fined £22,667 and ordered to pay £7,228 in costs.

Construction company prosecuted after workers fall from height

A construction company has been sentenced following an incident where two bricklayers fell from height during the construction of a parapet wall. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard that on 31 October 2019, two employees suffered serious injuries at a property in Over Alderley, Cheshire when the makeshift platform they were working on collapsed. The two men, along with plywood boards and bricks, fell approximately eight feet to the concrete floor below. The first man sustained fractured ribs, severe bruising and a large wound to his leg, the second man sustained severe bruising to his knees.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that H Cumberbirch & Sons Limited did not properly plan the work at height, in that the risk assessment and method statement by failing to consider how the parapet wall would be constructed and how the risk of falling from height would be prevented. The company failed to ensure that there were suitable measures in place for preventing the employees from falling from height and they were left to work out how best to carry out the work with the equipment they had available. The work at height was not adequately supervised to ensure that it was carried out safely.

H Cumberbirch & Son Limited of Fence Avenue in Macclesfield pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £36,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,824.

A letting company and its director have been fined for gas safety failings

A letting agent company and its director have been fined for failing to carry out essential safety checks on  gas appliances in their rental property. Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard how the landlord, Belleview Property Limited (Belleview), failed to carry out the annual gas safety check at their rental property in Colchester, Essex. Belleview were served with an Improvement Notice requiring the checks to be carried out, but they failed to do within the specified timeframe.

They also failed to provide details of the  tenancy agreement when requested to do so by a Health and Safety (HSE)inspector using her powers under Section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  The investigation found that Belleview’s failures were committed with the consent of, or were attributable to neglect on the part of, Adrian Ellis, as the sole director of Belleview.

The Court heard how Adrian Ellis had previously been prosecuted by HSE for failing to undertake gas safety checks at properties owned and rented out by him as an individual. Belleview had also been subject to HSE enforcement twice in the last five years relating to its failure to arrange gas safety checks at properties rented out by it, including the property subject to the current case.

Belleview Property Limited of  Station Road, St Ives, pleaded guilty to breaching the Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998,  Regulation 36(3) and failing to comply with the requirement to provide information under Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974,  Section 20 was fined £12,000 with £2,245.28  costs.

Director Adrian Ellis of  Leech’s Lane, Colchester, Essex  pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £3,000 with £ 2,245.28 costs.

Each defendant was ordered to pay a further £170 as a government surcharge.

Contractor fined for failing to comply with health and safety regulations

A sole trader has been fined for failing to plan, manage and monitor construction work being carried out under their control. Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard how Rytis Tamasaukas was the principal contractor carrying out extensive refurbishment works to extend a detached property in Chigwell, Essex.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out six site inspections between 1 May and 28 November 2018. Mr Tamasaukas was served with three prohibition notices for breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and another prohibition notice for the stability of roof trusses. He was also served three improvement notices for the control of wood dust, access and egress and competent supervision. Following a revisit to the site by the HSE inspector David King it was discovered that Mr Tamasaukas continued in his failure to plan, manage and monitor the construction work being carried out under his control. He also failed to comply with the prohibition notice for work at height and the improvement notice which referred to the training of a competent Site Manager.

Mr Tamasaukas, formerly of 27 Neterfield Gardens, Barking and now resident in Romford, Essex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and two counts of breaching Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He was ordered to serve a community order, which involves undertaking 280 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months and ordered to pay costs of £5,000.

Company fined after a worker falls from height when platform collapses

A North-East civil engineering company has been sentenced after a worker suffered life threatening injuries after falling 15 metres when a platform he was working on unexpectedly collapsed. Teesside Magistrates Court heard how that on 31 July 2019, the worker was involved in the dismantling of the Brent Bravo, a former North Sea oil and gas platform.

Able UK Limited was contracted to dismantle four platforms from the Brent North Sea oil and gas field. The incident occurred during the removal of a module located on the north west corner of the Brent Bravo Platform. In planning for the removal of the module, it was noted that there were three platforms on the cellar deck of the structure that would need to be moved to allow the module to fall safely. It was not recognised by the planning team that one of the platforms did not form part of the main structure and was attached to the platform using bolts that had corroded over time.  This affected the structural integrity of the platform and the methodology required to remove it safely.  During the cutting of bracing beams, the platform unexpectedly collapsed causing one of the employees to fall 15 metres.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found that Able UK Limited failed to carry out a full structural appraisal of the platform prior to demolition. This would have informed the risk assessment and method statement being used by the cutting crew at the time of the incident to ensure that the work could have been carried out safely.

Able UK Limited of Able House, Billingham Reach Industrial Est, Haverton Hill Road, Cleveland, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) of The Health and Safety at Work act 1974 and was fined £200,000 with £20,991.24 costs by Teesside Magistrates Court.

Company, director and excavator operator fined after two workers sustain severe injuries in separate incidents

J Murphy Aggregates Ltd, Shaun Murphy and James Duggan have been sentenced at Leeds Crown Court for safety breaches after a worker was struck by a falling excavator. In addition, J Murphy Aggregates Ltd was sentenced for safety breaches in a separate incident after a wagon driver sustained severe crush injuries to his right leg when he was dragged under a 360 excavator.

York Crown Court had previously heard that, in March 2018, J Murphy Aggregates Ltd was engaged in waste management/collection of non-hazardous waste, typically tarmac, brick rubble and broken concrete, which is further broken down and then sold on as hardcore to building sites. The sole director is Shaun Murphy. Prior to the incident, the company were using agency staff on occasion to cover some tasks.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that James Duggan had been initially employed as a crusher machine operator via an employment agency and held a Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) card to do so. However, he was then employed directly by Shaun Murphy to operate a tracked excavator, despite not holding formal qualifications for operating one. Mr Duggan was using the excavator to “munch” a stockpile when the ground below the excavator collapsed. The excavator then tumbled down the stockpile and collided with a worker who was catapulted off the crushing machine he was maintaining at the time.

The 58-year-old worker suffered multiple fractures to both legs, a dislocated kneecap, a right sided fracture to the pelvis and hip, two punctured lungs, and a right sided fracture to the skull. He also required ten stitches to the head. He remained in hospital for a year, during which time his right hip was removed. His right leg is now significantly shorter than his left leg.

J Murphy Aggregates Ltd of Viaduct Street Pudsey Leeds West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) and Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £70,000.

Shaun Murphy, Director, of Viaduct Street, Pudsey, Leeds pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) and Section 3 (1) by virtue of section 37(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was sentenced to an eight-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and 160 hours of community service. He is also required to attend 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £2,242.50 costs.

James Duggan, Excavator Operator, of Snawthorne Grove, Castleford West, Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 (a) and Section 3 (2) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He received and eight-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and order to pay £2,242.50 costs.

J Murphy Aggregates Ltd was also sentenced in relation to a later incident in which a wagon driver sustained severe crush injuries to his right leg when it was dragged under a 360 excavator.

Leeds Magistrates’ Court had previously heard that, on 4 December 2020, the wagon driver’s tipper vehicle was being loaded with rubbish by a 360 Excavator. He was standing watching this being done. He then approached the side of the wagon to retrieve some overhanging rubbish, before walking between the excavator and wagon and standing towards the rear of the vehicle near to the right-hand track of the excavator. The excavator tracked forwards, dragging his right leg under it, and crushing it.

His right leg was broken and degloved below the knee. He underwent several operations to repair the open fractures and have muscle and skin grafts. A muscle graft subsequently failed in his right ankle and following other complications his right leg was amputated below the knee. His left leg has also been left badly scarred and damaged from the skin and muscle grafts taken from it.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there was no effective segregation between heavy vehicles and pedestrians in the yard. CCTV footage of the two weeks prior to the accident showed several occasions where plant machinery almost contacted a pedestrian. In the period immediately prior to the accident, other pedestrians are seen on foot within the danger zone of the excavator as it is loading wagons with rubbish.

J Murphy Aggregates Ltd of Viaduct Street, Stanningley, Pudsey, West Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. For this offence, the company was fined £50,000. J Murphy Aggregates Ltd was ordered to pay a total of £8,750 costs.

School fined after teaching assistant injured in fall from height

Todmorden Church of England Junior Infants and Nursery School has been sentenced today for a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act after an employee fell through the ceiling of the school hall, causing a major injury. Bradford Magistrates’ Court heard that on 18 September 2019, a teaching assistant had accessed the loft space in the school and as they entered, they fell around four metres through the fragile ceiling which resulted in a broken back.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that when the teaching assistant was searching for a spare desk in the loft space, she fell due to the area being only partially boarded, meaning that the fragile ceiling gave way. This incident resulted in the victim suffering a broken back that left her in hospital for three weeks. She is still in recovery awaiting further operations.

Todmorden Church of England Junior Infants and Nursery School of Burnley Road, Todmorden pleaded guilty to breaching Section 6 (3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The school has been fined £4,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £181 and £747.80 costs.

Company fined after electrician died following fall from crane platform

A company has been fined after an electrician died in fall of approximately eight metres when an access panel on the raised walkway of an overhead crane gave way beneath him.

Teesside Crown Court heard that on 25 October 2016, whilst working at Cleveland Bridge UK Limited’s site in Yarm Road, Darlington, electrician Keith Poppleton was repairing wiring that had been causing a short circuit on the lifting equipment of a large overhead gantry crane, known as C25. As he was walking along the crane’s walkway, an access panel gave way beneath his feet, causing him to fall through to the ground below. Mr Poppleton sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at hospital.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to maintain the crane walkway’s access panels, which had been used to replace lighting fittings some months earlier. Also, the panel itself had been subject to weld repair, and there was no evidence of any steps being taken to ensure that the panel was safely replaced into the void and secured to ensure it did not fail.

Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd of Cleveland House, Yarm Road, Darlington were found guilty of breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Regulation 8(b)(i) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £1.5M and ordered to pay costs of £29,239.

Mr Poppleton, a former college lecturer in electrical engineering, leaves behind a wife and three daughters.

His wife Catherine Poppleton said: “The day Keith died a large part of me died with him. He was my world, he was the reason my life was interesting, exciting, safe and I felt loved.

“He was risk-averse and this respect for safety was something he practised as well as taught.

“I feel that the ‘me’ before losing Keith has gone. I do not feel like myself anymore, I do not feel whole.”

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Jonathan Wills said: “Mr Poppleton and others were at risk from serious injury whilst walking on a gantry 26 feet high, as the company had failed to assess the risk of these access platforms, which should be secured in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

“This was an incident, which could easily have been prevented had the company considered the risks associated with such access panels not being secured in place following maintenance work and general wear and tear.”

Metal recycling company and its director prosecuted after 15-year-old boy suffers serious burn injuries

A metal recycling firm and its director have been sentenced after a 15-year-old employee of the company suffered serious burns following an explosion and flash fire. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that  on 1 August 2019 the boy, working on a casual basis for A & S Metal Recycling Limited, suffered 22 per cent burns to his body when aerosol canisters he had fed into a shredding machine exploded causing a flash fire at an industrial unit in Worcestershire.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the work unit was not an appropriate facility for processing aerosol canisters; control measures to prevent or mitigate fire and explosion risks were not put in place. Despite this, the activity was undertaken by minors, employed as a part of a casual working arrangement, using inadequate equipment.

A & S Metal Recycling Limited of Barracks Road, Sandy Lane Industrial Estate, Stourport-on-Severn pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £66,000 served as a compensation order to be paid to the injured person, ordered to pay cost of £8,192.55.

Simon Davies, director of A & S Recycling Limited, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was given a six-month custodial sentence suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

Motor vehicle scrap company fined after worker suffers crush injuries

A motor vehicle scrap company and a director have been fined after a worker suffered crush injuries in an incident involving a forklift truck. Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard how on 1 March 2021, an employee of Queensferry Car Breakers Limited was injured when he was hit and run over by a forklift truck driven by his employer Ghol Mohammad Navabi. The forklift truck was being used to transport engine parts from the scrap yard up a loading ramp into the back of a metal container.

Whilst Mr Navabi was inside the container, he asked the worker to collect a car bonnet. The worker left the container and walked down the ramp returning quicker than Mr Navabi expected. As he was walking back up the ramp Mr Navabi reversed down it and ran over him, which resulted in multiple fractures to both his legs.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident found that the forklift truck had not been adequately maintained, had no working foot brake, no working hand brake and the steering was defective. There were no measures in place to segregate pedestrians and moving vehicles and the company had no employer’s Liability Compulsory Insurance.

Queensferry Car Breakers Limited of Doddington Road, Cambridge pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; and Section 1(1) of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 (“the Act”). The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,923.

Sole director of Queensferry Car Breakers Ghol Mohammad Navabi pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, by virtue of Section 37(1). He was given a 20 week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, including 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 180 unpaid work hours and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £3,923.

Manufacturing company fined after employee suffered fatal injury

A manufacturing company has been fined after an employee was found fatally injured under the forks of a side-loader lift truck. Dudley Magistrates’ Court heard that on 2 September 2019, a Cutting Edge Trading Limited employee, Mitchell Poutney, was fatally injured at the company site on Station Road, Rowley Regis, West Midlands during a lifting operation. The unsupported forks and carriage of a side-loader lift truck descended, crushing him whilst he was working underneath it.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had failed to provide a safe system of work for unloading palletised goods using the side-loader forklift truck.

Cutting Edge Trading Limited of Station Road Industrial Estate, Rowley Regis, West Midlands pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,153.

Asbestos removal company fined for failing to protect workers

An asbestos management company director has been jailed after failures to protect workers from asbestos exposure during a major refurbishment project in Plymouth.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard that in February 2017, concerns were raised by workers at Ensure Asbestos Management Limited who believed they were being put in danger whilst carrying out refurbishment work at a   department store.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found  irregularities in the asbestos surveys and clearance certificates, with some found to be fraudulent. Ensure Asbestos Management Limited had been contracted to carry out an asbestos survey, remove all identified asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) from the building and then carry out the initial strip-out of the building before it was refurbished. However, the company was found to have deliberately cut corners in managing the danger of asbestos exposure putting workers at risk.

• Ensure Asbestos Management Limited of Station Road, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £100,000 . Because the company is in liquidation, there is no prospect of a payment being made and so no order for costs was made.

Director of Ensure Asbestos Management Billy Hopwood of Swanstead, Basildon, Essex pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He has been sentenced to 10 months imprisonment,  immediate concurrent on each charge. He has also been  disqualified as a director for five years

Contracts Manager at Ensure Asbestos Management Phillip Hopwood of Churchgate Street, Harlow, Essex pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1), 3(1) and 33(1)(m) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.  His sentencing was adjourned until a later date.