A team of inspectors from Britain’s workplace regulator are heading to Manchester city centre as part of its priority to tackle ill-health on construction sites.
The 12 inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will head to the city next Tuesday (21 October). They will turn up without warning at various businesses and sites to look at their management of health and safety risks, with particular emphasis on the following:
These inspections in Manchester are part of 14,000 HSE is completing nationwide during the current financial year, with around 8,000 of those focusing on health.
HSE principal inspector Kevin Jones, one of those leading the team, said: “We’ll be checking that businesses have the right measures in place to ensure health risks are being managed and that workers are being kept safe.
“Manchester is home to some of the biggest construction projects in the country, however all sizes of sites will be inspected.
“By its nature, construction is a high hazard industry. It can be noisy and dusty, with people often working at height and around heavy machinery and vehicles.”
The construction industry has higher-than-average rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and injury rates. Previous HSE inspections around Great Britain have also found that three-quarters of noisy workplaces lacked essential knowledge on maintaining hearing protection equipment. Workers in skilled trades are also at particular risk of discovering and disturbing asbestos when working on properties built before 2000.
“These inspections are really important in HSE’s mission to protect people at work,” Kevin Jones added.
“As well as checking on companies, we want to work with them, explaining what they should be doing to get everything right.
“We hope that our presence in the city next week will reassure both the public and those working in the industry, that we will do all we can to ensure people go home safely at the end of the day.
“We need to see that there are good control measures in place and that the health and safety of workers is at the top of the agenda for everyone.
“We look forward to working with site managers and employers to ensure they are doing what’s required.”
More information on what employers should be doing can be found at www.hse.gov.uk.
Those with the duty to manage asbestos in buildings: Asbestos – Your Duty
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Biffa fined almost £2.5 million after worker crushed by skip wagon
A waste management company has been fined £2.48 million after a worker was run over by a reversing skip wagon at a waste transfer station in Bradford.
James Tabiri, 57, was working as a sort line operative at Biffa Waste Services Ltd’s waste transfer site in Bradford. On 10 August 2023, while making his way to the site office across the weighbridge, he was struck from behind by a reversing skip wagon. The impact caused him to fall, and he died from crush injuries from the rear wheels.
Screenshot of CCTV footage seconds before the collision. The vehicle involved is reversing in from the left-hand side of the image.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Biffa Waste Services Ltd failed to effectively review and monitor the control measures in place to protect pedestrians and keep them separate from vehicle movements.
CCTV footage from the week before the incident showed that it was common practice for people on site to bypass segregated pedestrian routes, with some seen climbing over barriers that were intended to keep them safe.
By law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without putting workers at risk. Guidance on managing vehicle movements in the workplace is available at Transport movements – HSE.
Biffa Waste Services Ltd, of Coronation Road, Cressex, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £2.48 million and ordered to pay full costs of £5,768.06 at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 15 October 2025.
Following the hearing, HSE inspector Elliot Archer said:
“This incident was easily avoidable. Control measures were in place to allow pedestrians and vehicles to move safely, but a lack of monitoring and supervision allowed poor working practices to develop between the workers on site.
“Our investigation found a casual attitude to health and safety with workers treating a high hazard site like a playground.
“Nearly a quarter of all deaths involving workplace transport occur during reversing manoeuvres.
“This tragic incident should be a reminder to the waste industry not to become complacent with the risks workplace transport poses, and that even where control measures are in place to segregate pedestrians and vehicles, robust monitoring and supervision of their correct usage need to be in place.”
The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Arfaq Nabi and paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Builder given suspended sentence after roof worker fell to his death
Man had been helping with roof work on an extension when he fell
No measures were in place to stop falls from height.
HSE guidance is available.
A self-employed builder from Reading has been given a suspended prison sentence after a man fell to his death while assisting with roof work.
Raffaele Vigliotti, 68, who was trading as Absolute Building Solutions, was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, after the death of Andrew Layley. The 69-year-old, an acquaintance of Vigliotti, was helping with roof work as part of an extension to a domestic property in the town.
It was during this work on 8 April 2023 that Mr Layley fell and sustained serious head injuries. He died in hospital several weeks later.
Andrew Layley was photographed by the home owner before the incident
Mr Layley, from Reading, was married with three grown up children and had a love of cats. His wife of nearly 40 years and children massively feel the loss of their “caring” husband and dad, saying his loss has left a huge hole in their lives.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Vigliotti failed to put in place suitable measures to protect both Mr Layley and another worker while they were working at height. The measures that were used were inadequate to either prevent or control a fall, or mitigate the consequence of a fall.
HSE guidance requires where it is not possible to avoid working at height, action must be taken to control the risk of falling and also minimise the consequence of a fall by either minimising the distance of a fall, or having measures in place, such as soft landing systems, to mitigate the fall. Guidance on working at height is available – Introduction to working at height safely – HSE.
Mr Layley and another worker were both put at risk while working at height
Mr Vigliotti of The Hedges, Bath Road, Padworth, Reading, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. At Reading Crown Court on 13 October 2025 he was given an eight-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work within the next 18 months and to pay a victim surcharge.
HSE inspector Nicola Pinckney said: “Every year, a significant proportion of incidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur as a result of unsuitable or absent measures to protect workers from falls from height.
“This was a wholly avoidable incident, and if consideration had been given to the well-known risks of working at height, and suitable, readily available controls been put in place, this incident could have been avoided.
“Due to Vigliotti’s failures, a family has been left without a much loved husband and dad.
“The penalty imposed on Mr Vigliotti will hopefully serve to highlight to others the importance of taking this risk seriously and ensuring they protect their workers from this risk.”
This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and paralegal Officer Helen Hugo.
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Construction company fined £1m following death of employee
Worker struck by reversing road-sweeper
Family describes Robert Morris as “the centre of our world”
HSE guidance is available on safe use of vehicles on site
A construction company that specialises in road resurfacing in London has been fined £1m after one of its employees was killed by a reversing road-sweeper.
Robert Morris, 48, was working on the resurfacing of Pemberton Road in Haringey for Marlborough Highways Limited on 30 May 2022. A colleague was at the wheel of the vehicle and Robert was struck while it was reversing.
A joint investigation was launched between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Metropolitan Police. The police submitted evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) leading to a separate prosecution, which resulted in the driver being given a suspended prison sentence.
The HSE investigation identified a number of failings. There was no segregation between people and moving vehicles on site and a banksman was not used when the road sweeper reversed and struck Mr Morris. The traffic management systems in place at the site were inadequate and unsafe, placing employees and members of the public at risk of serious injury and death.
The majority of construction transport accidents result from the inadequate segregation of pedestrians and vehicles. This can usually be avoided by careful planning, particularly at the design stage, and by controlling vehicle operations during construction work.
Marlborough Highways Limited of Woolf House Eagle Way, Chelmsford Garden, Chelmsford pleaded guilty to Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at the first opportunity. The company was fined £1million, with full costs awarded in the sum of £6,028, at City of London Magistrates’ Court on 3 October 2025.
In the separate CPS case, Jamie Smith, 46, from Essex, who was also an employee of the company, was prosecuted for an offence of causing death by careless driving contrary to section 2B of the Road Traffic Act 1988. He pleaded guilty and in February 2024, at Wood Green Crown Court, he was sentenced to a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and disqualified from driving for one year.
HSE principal inspector James Goldfinch said: “Our thoughts are with Robert’s family, described by his widow as ‘the centre of our world’. She says his children are ‘sad and angry and cheated of so much of their future’.
“Robert was entitled to return home safely from work to his family but the lack of segregation of vehicles and pedestrians by Marlborough Highways Limited meant he did not.
“This was a case where appropriate controls had been identified but were not being implemented on site.”
The prosecution was brought by HSE’s Enforcement Lawyer Samantha Wells, with the assistance of Paralegal Melissa Wardle.
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Two companies fined after worker falls through fragile rooflight
Man fell through fragile roof light.
He had to be rescued by firefighters after becoming impaled.
HSE guidance about working at height is available.
Two companies have been fined after a man fell through a fragile rooflight at a factory in Keighley, impaling his leg on machinery below.
A.T. Lee Properties Limited and LJH Property Limited were fined a combined total of more than £95,000 following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Directors for each firm were also given conditional discharges and ordered to pay prosecution costs.
The man fell through a fragile rooflight while carrying out over-cladding work
The man suffered leg injuries after falling at Cirteq Ltd, Hayfield Mills, Colne Road, Glusburn 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.
The 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.
After falling through the rooflight he was impaled on machinery below
Sub-contractor LJH Property Limited failed to properly plan, supervise, or ensure the work was carried out safely, and its assessment of the risks arising from the work was both unsuitable and insufficient.
HSE has guidance for those planning work at height and how it can be carried out safely, including the preventative measures required is available. Introduction to working at height safely – HSE.
A.T. Lee Properties Limited, of Leardene House, Draughton, Skipton, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £47,783 and ordered to pay £2,386 in costs at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 1 October 2025.
Company director Neil Cryer pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the same Act. He received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £2,369 in costs.
LJH Property Limited, of Moorfield Drive, Baildon, Shipley pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Act. The company was fined £47,818 and ordered to pay £2,518 in costs.
Company director Luke Hudson pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the same Act. He received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £2,369 in costs.
HSE inspectors visited the site after the incident
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 landed 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.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Jonathan Bambro, supported by HSE Paralegal Officer Helen Hugo.
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Man sentenced after carrying out illegal gas work
A Middlesbrough man has been given a suspended prison sentence after carrying out illegal gas work.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Neil Burton carried out boiler services in a home in Stockton-on-Tees on two occasions, in May 2021 and April 2022. Although Burton had previously been on the Gas Safe Register, he had allowed his membership and qualifications to lapse. A subsequent review of the boiler identified defects which meant it was classed as a risk and a danger.
Burton, 41, also carried out work at a house in Middlesbrough in September 2022 and October 2023. These works included disconnecting a gas hob and installing a new one, as well as disconnecting a gas fire. As he had done previously, he carried out this work while not registered to do so. He had also been subject of previous action taken by HSE, when carrying out illegal gas work in 2015.
Neil Burton, of Harrogate Crescent, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(1) and 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on 7 October 2025.
After the hearing, HSE Inspector Darian Dundas said:
“All gas work must be carried out by registered Gas Safe engineers to ensure the highest standards are met and to prevent injury or loss of life.
“The public should always ask to see a gas engineer’s identification and check their registration number online.”
Gas engineers and consumers can contact the Gas Safe Register in any of these ways:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Contractor told to carry out unpaid work after ignoring HSE action
Workers put at risk of serious injury.
Inspector slams contractor for showing “complete contempt” for workers’ safety
HSE guidance is available on safe working from height and demolition.
A London contractor has been given a suspended prison sentence after risking the lives of workers and ignoring action taken by Britain’s workplace regulator.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ordered Mohammed Mehdi Ali to stop working at a construction site in Willesden on 7 September 2018. Inspectors visited the Willesden Lane site and found unplanned, unsupervised and unsafe work was putting people at serious risk of injury.
Workers had been identified working on the roof area where they were at serious risk of falling from a height as no measures to protect them were in place. Unplanned and unsafe demolition work had also left the building structure at risk of collapse.
Mr Ali put workers at risk of falling from height
Despite the prohibition notice being served against him, Mr Ali ignored it and the work continued as before, putting the lives of those working on the site at risk. Mr Ali, of Barn Hill in Wembley, also failed to turn up at court to face justice in 2021 and as a result a warrant was issued for his arrest. It was only thanks to intelligence from the local community that the police arrested him and the court proceedings could finally resume. He has now been given a suspended 20-week custodial sentence and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
Not only did the HSE investigation find that Mr Ali disregarded the prohibition notice, but also that he failed to put in place measures to ensure the health and safety of people at his construction site.
Ali ignored HSE enforcement action telling him to stop the work
The law requires employers to carry out their legal duty to protect persons’ health and safety at the workplace by ensuring that construction work is adequately planned, managed, and monitored and appropriately supervised.
Falls from height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death and HSE has detailed guidance on working safely at height. In law, demolition work is treated the same as any other construction work. Workers must be supervised and follow safe working practices. HSE guidance on demolition is available.
Workers on the site were put at continued risk
Mr Ali pleaded guilty to committing an offence under s33(1)(g) of HSWA by breaching a prohibition notice and continuing to carry on the work without suitable and sufficient measures in place thereby exposing his workers to serious risk of personal injury. He was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months and must complete 200 hours of unpaid work as well as 10 days of rehabilitation. He was also ordered to pay £12,151 in costs at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 7 October 2025.
HSE inspector Saif Deen said: “Mr Ali not only ignored HSE and the criminal justice system, he showed complete contempt for the safety of workers.
“The law requires employees to ensure the health and safety of persons at their workplace. Employers have a responsibility to ensure that everyone on a building site is safe.
“We will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to comply with HSE enforcement and continue to put their workers at risk.
“Working at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace death and injury.
“We would like to thank the local community for ensuring justice was done, which helps to keep people safe.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Alan Hughes and paralegal officer David Shore.
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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 can be found here and those for Scotland here.
Company fined after much loved family man killed by reversing HGV
Several failings identified during investigation.
Man described as ‘my everything’ by his daughter.
HSE guidance is available.
A manufacturing company has been fined £240,000 after a grandfather was killed by a reversing HGV in Birmingham.
David Saint – described as ‘my everything’ by his daughter – worked as an engineering manager at Northwood Consumer Limited, at its site in Electra Park, Electric Avenue.
The 61-year-old, from Spalding in Lincolnshire, was walking across the service road on the shared industrial estate on 19 October 2023, when the reversing HGV collided with him.
Mr Saint leaves behind his wife, Cassandra, his children Samantha and Adam, his grandchildren, Jake and Ava, as well as his father, Terry, and siblings, Paul, Kim and Michael.
David Saint was killed by a reversing HGV
His daughter, Samantha, said: “He was my everything, there was nothing he wasn’t involved in.
“My life now consists of ‘what would dad do?’
“I think of him and miss him every day.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Northwood Consumer Limited failed to:
Undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks associated with workplace transport.
Address the movement of HGVs in its site rules;
Eliminate, as far as possible, the need for HGVs to reverse;
Provide any aids or assistance to HGVs that had to be reversed;
Display any signage to warn of the hazards arising from the movement of HGVs; and
Control when HGVs would access the site.
HSE guidance provides advice for employers on what they need to do to comply with the law and reduce risk. The guide is also useful for managers, supervisors, employees and their safety representatives, as well as contractors, vehicle operators and other organisations concerned with workplace transport safety.
A police drone captured this image of the aftermath of the incident
Mr Saint’s son Adam added: “I just miss my dad being there.
“I miss the conversations that we used to have and his guidance.
“I just miss everything about him.”
Northwood Consumer Limited of Northwood House, Stafford Park 10, Telford, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £240,000 and ordered to pay £6,917 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 6 October 2025.
Lead HSE inspector Charlie Rowe said: “This is a tragic and shocking case that has devastated Mr Saint’s family, friends and loved ones.
“Pedestrians being struck by moving vehicles remains a leading cause of workplace fatalities in Great Britain.
“Many of these incidents involve the reversal of vehicles with poor visibility, such as HGVs.
“The HSE will continue to take appropriate enforcement action where employers fail to implement reasonably practicable measures to keep people safe.
“My thoughts remain with all of David’s family and friends.”
This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Edward Parton and supported by senior paralegal manager Sarah Thomas.
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Lanes Group Limited fined £800k after investigation into death of devoted father
The partner of a man critically injured by an exploding jet hose waited until after Christmas to agree to switch off life support.
Estefania Fonseca, who planned to marry Miguel Galvao the following year, was placed in this impossible position following failures by Lanes Group Limited, who have been fined £800,000 following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
She made the decision for the sake of their children. The 51-year-old died on 27 December 2022.
Miguel Galvao
Two-and-half-weeks earlier, on 10 December Miguel was working as a drainage engineer for the utility and infrastructure company. When priming the jetting hose, a loud explosion was heard and the end of the hose whipped up at high speed, striking him. Miguel was rushed to hospital but placed in an induced coma.
The morning of the incident was very cold, with witnesses describing temperatures dropping to around -3 to -4 degrees. Water was being filled into the jetting system (hose, pumps and filters) prior to jetting. The end of the hose was suspended in an inspection chamber when a large pressure release, thought to be due to a build-up of ice in the system, caused the end of the hose to strike Mr Galvao in the face.
The jetting tanker
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of its employees. The major failings identified during the investigation were:
There was no safe system of work detailing how priming of the jetting system should be done safely.
There was a failure to maintain work equipment in an efficient state, as a number of other jetting vehicles were seen with defective vices.
There was a failure to monitor use of physical control measures in place.
Employees were not provided with sufficient information, instruction, training and supervision.
During the investigation, the Water Jetting Association, a trade association representing those carrying out high pressure water jetting, released a safety alert reminding operators of the importance of restraining or anchoring the end of the jetting hose.
The end of the hose should have been mechanically secured in a system such as the vice provided on the vehicle, like the one shown below.
The vice on the vehicle that should secure the hose
“It felt like the floor had been taken from under me”
Miguel Galvao had two children with Estefania, as well as an adult daughter, Patricia, from a previous relationship.
After two weeks in hospital, doctors told Estefania there was nothing more they could do for Miguel.
She said: “They asked me if they could switch off the machine and then explained to me that Miguel could pass instantly or breathe by himself between five to seven days.
“Five days would have been Christmas day so I told them they could not do that because of the kids but they could do it afterwards. This was on 27 December.
“Since Miguel passed, I have PTSD – it has affected everything. Miguel was my everything, he was my rock. When Miguel died, it felt like the floor had been taken from under me.
“We lived together for 15 years and had planned to marry at Christmas 2023. We have three children – Angelica, Michael and Jose. It has been so difficult for them to cope without their dad.
“Michael screamed ‘my dad is dead’ when he saw him in hospital, and he still struggles with anger and grief. Angelica was a real daddy’s girl – she has trouble sleeping and misbehaves because she feels no one cares about what happened to her dad. Jose, our eldest, has tried to be strong, but it has affected him deeply too.
“I have good days and bad days, but everything has changed. We used to go out as a family every two weeks – to the cinema, to London, or even just to the park late at night – Miguel loved making memories with the children. We can’t do that now. The kids often ask why life is so different without daddy.
“Financially it has also been a real struggle. We relied on Miguel’s wages, and I now find myself on benefits, unable to give the children the life we had before. We don’t have a car anymore, I can’t always afford the heating, and I have to choose which child I can buy something for each month. It is heartbreaking.
“Miguel’s dream was to buy a house and retire in Portugal. When my father died, he said he would be happy living in my mum’s house there, and that is where we buried him. It is what he would have wanted.
“He worked for this company for nearly 10 years, and it hurts that he never came home from work. They came to his funeral but never spoke to me or the children. That lack of respect has been so painful.
“Miguel was a wonderful father and partner. He went to work that day and never came home. Our lives will never be the same without him.”
Lanes Group Limited of C/O Elements Ring Rd, Lower Wortley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, LS12 6AB pleaded guilty to breaches under Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £800,000, reduced from £1.2 million due to the early guilty plea, and ordered to pay £8,680 in full costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge at City of London Magistrates’ Court on 2 October 2025.
“The kindest soul around.. he loved his work and took great pride in it”
In her tribute, Miguel’s daughter Patrícia Galvão said:
“My father was the kindest soul around — there wasn’t a single person who disliked him. He truly loved his work and took great pride in it. I remember him doing the same “work courses” over and over again, even though he only needed to complete them once every few years. That was just who he was — dedicated, passionate, and always striving to do things right.
“I loved how cheerful and playful he always was with me during our video calls, and how much he enjoyed talking about everything — from work to the smallest everyday things. Those conversations meant a lot to me, and they’re memories I’ll always cherish.
“Even though I always lived far from him, he gave me all the love and support he could from 1,500 kilometers away. I have always been, and will always be, proud of the man and father he was and everything he achieved.”
HSE inspector Marcus Pope said:
“This absolutely tragic incident further demonstrates the need for companies to ensure there are suitable safe systems of work for non-routine work, such as work in freezing temperatures where machines are at risk of freezing.
“This investigation and the input from the Water Jetting Association should help demonstrate to the industry the importance of restraining or anchoring the end of jetting hoses when priming systems.”
This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and paralegal officer Rebecca Withell.
Further information
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
Marina fined after worker injured during boat lift
A marina based in the Norfolk Broads has been fined after a man was injured during a boat lift at the site.
The incident happened at St Olaves Marina Limited on 17 May 2023, which resulted in the amputation of the man’s finger.
The man, who was employed by Northern Divers (Engineering) Limited, was injured while assisting with a work boat being lifted by a telehandler operated by St Olaves Marina staff. As the boat was being raised, the man’s hand was crushed by the telehandler forks which resulted in the fourth finger on his right hand being amputated.
The worker’s hands were crushed under the forks of this telehandler
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) determined that St Olaves Marina Limited had failed to implement suitable measures to control the risks involved in lifting operations and that staff had not received appropriate training for such tasks.
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that employers must take effective measures to safeguard their employees and persons not employed by them from the risks created by their work activities.
St Olaves Marina Limited, of Beccles Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £5,700 in costs at Norwich Magistrates Court on the 3 October 2025.
HSE inspector Christopher Booker said: “Every year, a significant proportion of accidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur as a result of poorly planned and managed work activities.
“In this case, a wholly avoidable incident was caused by the failure to conduct and carry out a simple lift plan. Had the company suitably planned the lifting of the boat, this life-changing injury would not have occurred.”
This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Karen Park and paralegal Melissa Wardle.
Further information:
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.
More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
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.
