A ROOFING company owner has been fined £2,000 after a sub-contractor fell through a roof light.

Michael McPherson, of Middlesbrough, fell ten metres to the concrete floor of the industrial unit, breaking bones in his pelvis, back, heel and elbow.

When the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the building on the Greencroft Industrial Estate, near Stanley, County Durham, inspectors issued a prohibition notice because safety precautions for the work were inadequate.

The accident happened in March last year while Industrial Cladding Systems, of Lemington, Newcastle, was re-roofing the unit, Durham Magistrates' Court was told.

HSE inspector Chris Lucas said sub-contractors were working under the direction of the company's owner, Matthew Pearson, but the safety measures in place were inadequate as the roof lights had not been covered to stop someone falling through them, and safety harnesses were incorrectly anchored.

He said the company had been given prohibition notices and guidance on safety in the past, and that on one occasion, in 1998, a worker had broken a leg after falling through a roof light.

Mr Pearson, 41, of Darras Hall, Ponteland, admitted a breach of health and safety regulations requiring that sufficient steps be taken to prevent workers falling through fragile material.

He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 costs.

David De Jehan, mitigating, said that Mr Pearson had never been before in court before and took safety seriously.

But he said he had allowed the team of sub-contractors employed for the job "a certain responsibility for the way they carried out the work''.

The injured man was not wearing the safety harness or a lanyard he had agreed to wear when he fell.

Mr De Jehan said his client had reviewed safety training and procedures and invested in equipment.

Afterwards, Mr Lucas said: "Falls from height are the most significant killer in construction.

"We need to make clear that the precautions in place to guard these risks are correct."

He said that the case sent the message that the HSE would prosecute firms who breached the law.