Northumberland firm fined after employee broke his back in fall through fragile roof

The 24-year-old had been part of a team working for Len Smith & Son Building Contractors carrying out repairs to the roof at East Fleetham Farm in Seahouses on February 5, 2025.

The man stepped on a polycarbonate roof sheet and fell approximately eight feet to the concrete floor below. He suffered two broken vertebrae in his back, as well as having a fractured sternum, that required surgery.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to ensure that there were adequate measures in place to protect employees or contractors when working at height. There was no risk assessment or safe system of work for the work activity being undertaken.

Falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace death and injury with the latest statistics from HSE showing that they account for over a quarter of all work related deaths in 2025/26.

HSE guidance states what an employer must do to protect their employees from falls from height including making sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people.

Len Smith & Son Building Contractors Limited, Meadow Lane, Beadnell, pleaded guilty to breaching the Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £5,744 in costs by North Tyneside Magistrates Court on August 6.

HSE inspector Richard McMullen said: “The outcome of this case could have been much worse, but the man’s injuries were still very serious.

“Falls from height continue to be the leading cause of workplace fatalities in Great Britain, with 31 people losing their lives in the past year.

“The construction industry remains the sector that accounts for the greatest number of workers killed each year.

“These figures do not include those individuals that have sustained serious, life changing injuries in falls.

“We will prosecute those that fail to protect people while at work.”