Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of R J Scaffolding (Bristol) Limited was in an induced coma for two weeks after falling more than six metres from the scaffolding.

The worker suffered several serious injuries including losing the sight in his right eye and five fractures to the skull.

An HSE investigation into the incident which occurred on 2 June 2016 found the employee was untrained, the supervisor was unfamiliar with the current expected safety techniques and the appropriate equipment had not been provided to the worker to conduct this work safely.

R J Scaffolding (Bristol) Limited of Hengrove, Bristol pleaded guilty to breaching safety regulations and was fined £26,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £1657.76.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Ian Whittles said: “We want all workers to go home healthy and safe. Those in control of work have a responsibility to ensure safe methods of working are used and to inform, instruct and train their workers in their use.

“If industry recognised safe systems of erecting scaffold had been in place prior to the incident, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”