A construction company has been fined after a kitchen fitter was crushed to death by a pack of concrete blocks at a site in the Cotswolds.

Martin Dunford, who was 33, was ‘very much loved’ by his family who say they miss him ‘every day’ since the incident on 23 January 2020. Martin, from Pocklington in Yorkshire, was killed after being pinned against the side of a lorry loader as two stacks of concrete blocks fell onto him.

Martin’s sister, Tracey Hunter, provided a statement on behalf of his family.

She said: “Martin went to work and never came home. His life was unjustly cut short.

“Little did he know on that date that he was going to work on a site that had ongoing issues and was not following HSE guidelines for working safely on a construction site.

“Martin was very much loved by his family and friends. He is missed every day and nothing can ever fill the hole that is left by him no longer being here.

“We, his family, and friends are still all navigating throughout this endless period of grief and today’s verdict is the start of some sense of justice towards his senseless death.”

Martin had been working at Ebrington Rise, near Chipping Campden – a development of 16 three, four and five bedroomed houses being built by Piper Homes Construction Limited.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Martin had walked around a lorry loader to talk to a driver about how long he would be on site, as he needed access to one of the properties being built.  A stack of concrete blocks which had been placed on top of another stack of blocks, which was also supported by a wooden pallet, toppled over onto him, pinning him against the side of the lorry. He sustained severe internal and head injuries and died on site.

Piper Homes Construction Limited, who were the principal contractor on the site, had failed to ensure that a suitable, level storage area was provided for the safe offloading of construction materials.  The company had also failed to ensure that wooden pallets in a suitable condition were used for the storage of construction materials and that persons were excluded from delivery areas. HSE guidance on pallet safety is available.

Piper Homes Construction Limited, which is currently in liquidation, of Lace Market Square, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £5,236 in costs at Cheltenham Magistrates Court on 29 April 2025.

HSE inspector James Lucas said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident and our thoughts remain with Martin’s family.

“Storage of construction materials should be properly planned and managed, to ensure that if materials are stored at height the necessary measures are in place to prevent them from falling and potentially injuring persons.

“Storage areas should be level and accessories such as wooden pallets should be regularly inspected to ensure that they are in suitable condition to be used to store materials.

“Had this been done on this particular site, Martin would have returned home safely to his family.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Arfaq Nabi and paralegal officer Jason Dix

Notes to editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE guidance on pallet safety is available.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

A company and its director have been fined a combined £18,000 after a man was injured during excavation work in West Sussex.

JHE Construction and Jordan Hay-Ellis pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws following the incident on 23 February 2023.

The company had been contracted to complete a full barn conversion, which included the installation of a new septic tank. In order to install the tank, workers had to dig an excavation approximately three metres deep. Edward Keely, 30, along with two other men, had been tasked with doing the work at Lone Oak Farm.

The three men were in the hole preparing to install a concrete base for the septic tank to sit on when the walls collapsed.  Mr Keely was struck by falling soil which resulted in multiple bone fractures and required for him to be dug out.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that inadequate precautions had been taken to prevent the collapse of the excavation, yet the men were expected to work in it.

HSE guidance advises that all work of this nature should be correctly planned, including whether any temporary support structures should be used. This may also include battering the excavation sides to make it safer. You can read more about HSE guidance here.

JHE Construction Limited, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.  The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £2,612 in costs at Brighton Magistrates Court on 24 March 2025.

Jodran Hay-Ellie, 33, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Nathan Kent said: “The risk associated with excavation collapse is well understood within the construction industry and this incident was easily foreseeable.

“All excavation work should be supported or battered back.

“Failure to do so in this case resulted in a young man sustaining very serious injuries.

“HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all they can to keep people safe.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE lawyer Julian White and paralegal officer Imogen Isaac.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance on excavations is available.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

A London property developer has been fined £63,000 plus costs after Britain’s workplace regulator found multiple failures at a construction site in Dalston.

Nofax Enterprises Limited was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following four visits to its site on Dalston Lane over a 13 month period between 2020 and 2021. The company was overseeing the construction of a four storey building on the site, containing nine flats and large basement to house a youth club.

However, the failures identified by HSE inspectors – including multiple working at height risks, poor fire precautions and exposure to large amounts of silica dust – were so serious, that they resulted in the site being closed down on two separate occasions. Other breaches of the law included failing to protect workers from exposure to wood dust, as well as insufficient covid and welfare controls.

• Exposure to either wood or silica dust can result in very serious and life threatening health conditions, including asthma, nasal and lung cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and silicosis. HSE provides a range of guidance for stone workers and those working with wood.

In total, 9 enforcement notices were served against the company for the Dalston Lane site, including five prohibition notices. The subsequent HSE investigation included inspections at other sites operated by the company, identifying a poor health and safety culture and systemic management failings.

Owing to the repeated poor performance and lack of compliance to basic health and safety, Nofax Enterprises Limited, of Maldon, Essex pleaded guilty to breaches of sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Following the hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 18^th March 2025, the company was ordered to pay a total of £88,812.68 which included a fine of £63,000, costs of £25,622.

In summing up, the judge stated that despite repeated visits by HSE and multiple notices being served, risks subsisted over a long period and the company failed to make any appropriate changes. The judge concluded by saying that there had been a systemic failure within the organisation to manage health and safety.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Gordon Nixon said: “This company showed a total disregard to keeping its workers safe.

“They failed to meet even the most basic health and safety standards, continually exposing operatives to serious risks.

“HSE will not wait until workers are seriously injured, or worse and will take appropriate action including prosecutions when health and safety regulations are so blatantly flouted.”

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.

A father-of-three was left paralysed from the chest down after falling through a ceiling at a house renovation in Derbyshire.

Chesterfield builder Andrew Clifford remained lying face down on the floor for around six hours before he was found by a delivery driver. He judged the time by hearing hourly news bulletins from his radio.

Andrew had been working alone installing first-floor joists during the construction of a house on Main Road in Dronfield. The 51-year-old was carrying out the work on behalf of Paul Freeman Limited – a Mansfield-based company he had worked with for around 20 years.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted the company for failing to properly plan work at height.

On the morning of 31 October 2022 Mr Clifford slipped and fell from the first floor to the ground below and was left unable to move.

He spent nearly five months in hospital, with the injuries to his spinal cord so serious they left him paralysed from the chest down, with only limited movement in his hands and arms.

Speaking about the day that changed his and his family’s lives forever, Mr Clifford said: “The first thing I recall after my fall was landing on my head.

“From that point it was a very strange feeling as from when I landed, I felt no pain and I couldn’t understand why or that I couldn’t get up.

“My radio was on and I judged the time by the news. After an hour, I tried to move again and this carried on for around three hours. Eventually, I realised this was serious and I thought I’d better stay still as I didn’t want to cause further injuries.

“This wasn’t the type of street where people were walking past and as it started to get dark I was getting really worried.

“When I was found by the delivery driver I heard him shout out, ‘hello, hello, hello’.

“I think I fell between 9am and 9.30 and wasn’t found until 3pm.”

He went on to say how being a builder was a job he loved and described the impact the incident has had on his everyday life.

“I can’t do anything I used to love doing before,” he said.

“Simple things like doing the gardening, washing the car and jobs around the house.

“I can’t even wash or dress myself now.

“I haven’t been upstairs in my house since the accident – my wife and three daughters all sleep upstairs and I sleep alone downstairs.

“Another thing that really upsets me is the thought of not being able to walk my daughters down the aisle when they get married.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Paul Freeman Limited failed to ensure that work at height had been properly planned and, as such, no measures had been implemented to prevent falls during the construction of the first floor. Mr Clifford had not been provided with suitable instruction as to how the work should be carried out and was therefore left to work this out on his own.

Working at height remains one of the leading causes of death in the construction industry and HSE has detailed published guidance on minimising the risks associated with it.

Paul Freeman Ltd of Synergy House,  Acorn Business Park, Commercial Gate, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Derby Magistrates’ Court on 4 November 2024. They were fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,263.

HSE inspector Sara Andrews said: “My thoughts remain with Andrew and his family, whose lives have changed dramatically as a result of this preventable incident.

“This case highlights the importance of undertaking a thorough assessment of the risks for all work at height activities and the need to ensure that, where work at height cannot be avoided, suitable control measures are implemented to minimise the risk of serious injury.

“This is even more significant when lone working.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Neenu Bains and paralegal officer Rebecca Forman.

Notes to editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in England and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.

A builder has avoided an immediate spell behind bars after being convicted of carrying out gas work at a property in Berkshire when he was not qualified to do so.

Thomas Murray, who traded as Kerbgold Design and Construction Ltd, was given an eight-month prison sentence which was suspended for 18 months.

Reading Crown Court heard how Murray had been contracted to manage a large-scale renovation and extension of a property in Maidenhead in July 2018. The project involved significant gas work, including the installation of a gas boiler, relocation of a gas meter and the installation of associated pipework for both.

Further information and guidance on domestic gas health and safety is available.

However, the project over ran and the householders had to return to the property in January 2019, where they soon reported the smell of gas. Murray carried out a test which detected no gas leak.

As their concerns persisted, the homeowners contacted a Gas Safe Registered engineer to inspect the installation. The engineer found a gas leak and other faults within the installation. In addition, Cadent Gas, the gas supplier to the property, had never been notified about the relocation of the meter and pipework. The pipework leading to the meter was found to have been laid to incorrect depth and fittings suitable only for water pipework had been found to have been used throughout the installation.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that although Murray arranged for a Gas Safe engineer to install the boiler, they had only connected the water plumbing and left the property due to concerns being raised. In a bid to allow the homeowners to access hot water and heating, Murray decided to undertake some of the gas work himself as a temporary fix.

Murray, of Heath End Road, Flackwell Heath, Buckinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(2) of the Health Safety at Work Act 1974 and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to complete 250 hours unpaid work.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Karen Morris said: “In this case, Mr Murray was responsible for overseeing the gas work, which was not finished and had left householders and their neighbours at risk from the dangers and effects of leaking gas.

“To make matters worse, he decided to try and finish the job himself, despite not being competent to do so.

“His failures could have led to catastrophic and tragic consequences.

“We will not hesitate to prosecute builders who fail to ensure that gas work under their control is conducted safely using Gas Safe Registered engineers.”

Gas engineers and consumers can contact the Gas Safe Register in any of these ways:

• Gas Safe Register
• Phone – Consumers: 0800 408 5500; Engineers: 0800 408 5577
• Email – enquiries@gassaferegister.co.uk

Notes to editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Further information on domestic gas health and safety is available.

A plant hire company has been fined for leaving workers at risk of a fall from height and failing to provide minimum welfare facilities.

Blackpool Magistrates’ Court heard how, on 17 November 2020, Ruttle Plant (Birmingham) Ltd was in the process of building a new aggregate recycling facility at their site at Common Bank Lane, Chorley. Part of the work included the provision of cladding to the roof, which was carried out using a cherry picker. However, as some areas of the roof were difficult to reach, employees had to step onto the roof where no edge protection had been provided, putting them at risk of a 30ft fall. In addition, workers had been on site for some considerable time without the minimum required welfare facilities being available. This included facilities for hand washing during the height of the Covid pandemic.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the workers had been left unsupervised by site management, there had been no method statement to follow when they climbed onto the roof and there were no preventative measures in place to prevent the risk of a fall from height. Workers were also expected to drive to the company’s head office along an unadopted roadway more than five minutes’ drive away to use the toilet, despite there being ample room on the site for facilities.

Ruttle Plant Hire (Birmingham) Ltd of Lancaster House, Ackhurst Road, Chorley, Lancashire pleaded guilty to breaches of Regulation 13(4)(c) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, and Regulation 4(1) of The Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £66,667 and ordered to pay costs of £1,847.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Christine McGlynn said: “Had a worker fallen off the roof edge, it could have been fatal. Employers should ensure that workers are not left to carry out high risk roof work without supervision.

“Work at height and roof work should only be carried out by trained workers, who are being robustly monitored, following proper planning, risk assessment and using suitable equipment. The minimum standards for welfare must also be met.”

Notes to Editors:
1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: Construction- Roof work industry health and safety 
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk