Shocked passer-by videos scaffold horror show

Grant Prior 10 years ago
Share

A scaffolding contractor has been prosecuted after he repeatedly allowed unsafe work at height to be carried out on a busy London street.

Greg Pearson, from Enfield, trading as ‘Pearsons Scaffolding’, was prosecuted by the HSE after a member of the public raised concerns about scaffolding work being carried out on Tavistock Street in central London.

She was so concerned for the safety of passers-by and workers on the fifteen metre high scaffold that three separate complaints including photographs and videos were passed to HSE.

HSE visited the site twice and found the incomplete scaffold to be poorly erected and unsafe work practices were putting workers at risk.

Watch the video here

No measures had been taken to prevent any falling scaffolding equipment hitting members of the public below.

HSE served a Prohibition Notice ordering work to be stopped until the scaffold was made safe, but Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that Pearson ignored this and other warnings, carrying on regardless.

The court also heard Pearson failed to respond when required to produce documents for inspection during the investigation, hindering the HSE’s efforts to ensure future work was carried out safely at other sites.

Pearsons Scaffolding’s involvement at the site only ended when a second Prohibition Notice was served and the project’s Principal Contractor decided to take on another scaffolder to complete the work.

Greg Pearson, 33, of Enfield, pleaded guilty to two safety breaches and was given two suspended prison sentences of 10 weeks to run concurrently, suspended for 12 months.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £200 and a victim surcharge of £80.

Speaking after the hearing HSE Inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers said: “Greg Pearson repeatedly put the lives of other workers and members of the public at risk. He blatantly disregarded all warnings and enforcement action taken against him and it was just good fortune that no one was killed.

“It’s vital that law abiding scaffolders have confidence they will not lose work to others who underquote them because they take shortcuts at the expense of safety.

“This case should send a message to other scaffolders that Courts will sentence robustly even when the reckless working practices have thankfully not resulted in serious injuries or fatalities.

“I applaud the member of the public who alerted us to this as thankfully we were able to avoid the workers or the public being injured or killed. We encourage people to report unsafe work to us so we can act to protect workers and the public.”

Robin James, NASC MD said: “There is simply no excuse for inadequate health and safety provision when working at height.

“This appalling scenario could easily have ended in catastrophe.

“Regulated scaffolding contractors should be working to industry best practice in line with accepted guidance, such as SG4 (Preventing Falls in Scaffolding) and TG20 (Good Practice Guidance for Tube and Fitting Scaffolding). NASC will be launching an updated version of SG4 in November 2015.”

scaff3

Latest news

13-year-old becomes UK’s youngest qualified digger driver

Grandson of Gallagher Group chairman sets industry record
5 hours ago

Cubby reborn in £12m Svella-backed takeover

£50m revenue target set as 14 firms combine under new Cubby Group banner
20 hours ago

North East NHS trusts plot £3bn health estate overhaul

Market engagement begins for major construction push across four trusts
20 hours ago

HG goes green on cranes in £1.2m switch to battery power

Diesel-free crane drive cuts fuel bills by 94%
20 hours ago

Developer fined £165,000 for fire safety failings

Firm ignored fire safety orders on apartment job in Preston
20 hours ago

Bidding to start for £1.8bn North West framework

Contractors invited to bid for latest Procure Partnerships deal
21 hours ago

Hill hits record £90m profit as homes pipeline swells

Build-to-rent push and £4.8bn contracting book to fuel next growth phase
2 days ago

Rayner unveils £39bn plan to build 300,000 social homes

Council building revival and rent reform feature in social and affordable homes plan
2 days ago

Keltbray bounces back with £3.2m profit

Tighter controls and smarter project selection fuel strong turnaround
2 days ago

VINCI JV wins 500-home twin town centre revamps

Chester Northgate phase 2 and Northwich Weaver Square schemes move to delivery stage
2 days ago

80 energy projects unlocked as Ofgem backs grid expansion

£24bn energy networks deal gets green light from regulator
3 days ago

How to see your stories on the Enquirer

Join our Suppliers and Buyers directory to get your news published
2 days ago

Henley lands Midland Mill revamp on Leeds tower scheme

Restoration of 18th-century mill kicks off on South Bank regeneration project
2 days ago

New boss at Eric Wright Civil Engineering

Gavin Hulme takes top job as Diane Bourne moves to group role
2 days ago

Pinewood submits £1bn data centre plan

Studio giant adds green and learning spaces to tech hub blueprint
3 days ago

Record results after TClarke goes private

Britain's biggest M&E contractor flourishes after de-listing
3 days ago

Dalkia lands £200m nuclear maintenance deal

1,000 nuclear FM staff to join M&E contractor
3 days ago

Construction comeback to outpace wider economy

Arcadis forecast fueled by spending review optimism
4 days ago

First steel goes up on giant car battery site

Severfield gets to work on McAlpine Somerset site
4 days ago

Permasteelisa wins cladding deal on Bovis city tower

Facade specialist lands package at 60 Gracechurch Street
3 days ago

Fox buys recycled asphalt specialist Fisher

Acquisition adds major recycled asphalt capacity in north west
4 days ago

Major Building Safety Regulator shake-up to end tower delays

HSE stripped of control and top fire chiefs brought in to fast-track stalled schemes
4 days ago

Hinkley trio sign Sizewell civils deal

Balfour,Bouygues and Laing O'Rourke form Civil Works Alliance for new power station
4 days ago

£3.9bn data centre plan for Ravenscraig steelworks

Green energy to power massive new steel to silicon AI campus
4 days ago

Breakthrough on HS2’s second longest tunnel

8.4 mile Northolt to Old Oak Common drive completes
4 days ago

Neilcott on fast-track to debt-free employee ownership

£22.5m loan nearly paid down after big profit year
4 days ago

TfL kicks off race for £700m Tube station upgrade

South Kensington and Elephant & Castle top the pipeline list
4 days ago

Corbyn Plant Hire fleet goes under the hammer

Kit to be sold off by sister firm to collapsed groundworks contractor
4 days ago

Government wields procurement stick on late payment

New rules would block slow payers from bidding on big public jobs
7 days ago

Hercules buys power line labour firm for £15.7m

Labour supply specialist snaps up Advantage NRG to tap booming electricity upgrade market
7 days ago