GW Padley Poultry Ltd was prosecuted by the HSE after inspectors witnessed unsafe working at height while building a shed at the company’s site in Wigtoft in March 2012.

The poultry firm was the principal contractor but had no representatives on site.

The poultry buildings were supplied by Harlow Bros Ltd of Loughborough, who subcontracted the erection of the buildings to K & M Tomlinson Ltd, and Philip Bates.

Lincoln Crown Court heard that the HSE visited the site on 13 March 2012 and saw four workers on the roof of a new poultry building.

There was no edge protection or scaffolding in place and the height of the gable roof was about six metres.

When the inspector asked the workers to come down, they had to walk about ten metres along the sloping roof and down an unsecured ladder.

The inspector issued Kenneth Tomlinson, director of K & M Tomlinson, with a Prohibition Notice, stopping further work on the roof until suitable edge protection was put in place.

When the inspector revisited the site three days later, work on the roof had been completed.

A tower scaffold was at one end of the eaves and 12 airbags were on the floor at the other end of the building, but there was still no edge protection.

The inspector returned later the same day with a colleague and found workers, including Philip Bates, on the roofs of two sheds. The scaffold tower seen earlier had been dismantled.

HSE found airbags used for cushioning a fall were loose and anyone falling would have hit the ground. Faults were also found with a forklift truck being used in conjunction with work platform fitted to its prongs.

A second Prohibition Notice was served, preventing further work on the shed roofs.

Further enforcement notices were issued to GW Padley Poultry, Harlow Brothers and Bates to prevent all work on sloping roofs until adequate edge protection and internal fall protection was provided and an Improvement Notice was served on the poultry firm requiring them to appoint a competent site manager.

Harlow Brothers put in place a lifeline and harness system for safe working at height, but this was found to be inadequate on inspection and a further Improvement Notice was served.

The court heard that Harlow Brothers Ltd and Philip Bates have previous convictions for work on poultry house roofs without edge protection.

GW Padley Poultry Ltd of Mount Street, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £15,000 costs.

Harlow Brothers Ltd of Loughborough, Leicestershire, pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £15,000 costs.

K&M Tomlinson Ltd of Nottingham Road, Long Eaton, pleaded guilty to breaching lifting regulations and and was fined £1,000.

Kenneth Tomlinson of Long Eaton, pleaded guilty to a safety breach and was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 costs.

Philip Bates of Leasingham, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to a safety breach and was fined £4,500 and ordered to pay £5,550 costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Waring said: “In this case there was clear evidence of a very poor attitude to health and safety generally on this site. Each of the defendants had clear duties to ensure the safety of the workers, however these were repeatedly ignored.

“Working at height poses very obvious dangers but our visits uncovered a catalogue of safety breaches which could have had led to a fatal or very serious injury for a worker had they fallen.

“There was a continued and deliberate neglect of duties by particular parties in this case; and directors who disregard their responsibilities will be held personally accountable.”