Builders fined £200,000 after man fell to his death through a hole

by · Mail Online

A building firm has been fined £200,000 after an 81-year-old 'loving grandad' fell to his death through a hole in his bathroom floor.

Construction company Cooper and Westgate left an unguarded hole in the floor in Kenneth Armitage's home when they converted his bathroom into a wet room.

Mr Armitage fell through the floor, landed in the kitchen and was found dead by his son-in-law in the property in York on February 9, 2019.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Cooper and Westgate failed to adequately secure the hole as its employees were not properly trained.

They also found the company had failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment or a method statement for the work involved.

Kenneth Armitage (pictured) died after he fell through a hole in his bathroom floor
the hole in Kenneth's floor (pictured) had been left unguarded by construction company Cooper and Westgate

Kenneth's daughter Suzy described her dad as 'fantastic' and said she is 'still struggling to come to terms' with the tragic death.

She said: 'Our dad, who was sadly taken away from us, was everything to us. He was the kindest person you could ever meet.

'He was a fantastic dad to me, my brother and a loving grandad to all our children.

'I can't believe he has gone, I keep thinking it's a horrible nightmare and I will wake up and he'll be there.

Read More

Farming company is fined £320,000 after father, 64, was killed falling from a skip - as his devastated wife pays tribute to her 'soul mate'

'Our hearts were broken that day and may never heal. It should have never happened. We are all still struggling to come to terms with losing him.'

The building firm, which is based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The company was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 in costs at Leeds Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Yolande Burns-Sleightholme, from the HSE, said: 'Employers need to fully assess and control the risks from work at height, caused by creating holes in domestic properties and recognise the importance of securing them effectively.

'They should then pass this knowledge on to their employees through suitable training and guidance.

'This incident could so easily have been avoided had Cooper & Westgate properly assessed the risks, put in place safe working practices and provided the correct training to its employees.'