Weather Master Roofing Limited and company director Jack Avanzo, also known as Jack Avenzo, were sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court following a prosecution by the HSE.

The investigation found workers were seen operating without any scaffolding or edge protection on the roof of a house on Flint Hill, Dorking, on 21 February 2023. This put the workers at risk of falling from height, while there were also no measures to mitigate a fall, with the likes of harnesses not being used.

Workers were also observed using the lights from their phones and torches while working on the property at night.

HSE subsequently served Weather Master Roofing Limited with an Improvement Notice on 28 February 2023. The notice required the company to improve how it planned, carried out, supervised and monitored the work that was taking place on the roof.

Workers were observed using the lights from their phones and torches at night

The company failed to comply with the notice.

Weather Master Roofing Limited, of Muswell Hill, London, pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs as well as a victim surcharge of £1,600.

Jack Avanzo, of Killarney, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland also pleaded guilty and was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from being a director for three years. He was also ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.

HSE inspector Stephanie Hickford-Smith said: “Falls from height are still the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain. The law is clear – suitable and sufficient measures must be taken to prevent, where reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. Support and practical guidance on how to comply with the law is publicly available, free of charge. There is no excuse for putting workers lives at risk.”