Neighbours report rooftop warehouse workers

Davidson Williams (Merseyside) Ltd was prosecuted after a concerned member of the public sent photos of unsafe work on a warehouse roof in Birkenhead to the Health & Saftey Executive, a court has heard.

Three men were repairing a leaking roof, up to 16 metres above the ground, without harnesses or any suitable safety measures to stop them falling or to prevent them from being injured if they fell.

Wirral Magistrates' Court was told that HSE found there were around 400 clear plastic panels on the roof, designed to let in light, which could have broken away if they had been stepped on.

Two of the men were initially seen walking along the sloping warehouse roof at Vittoria Dock on 24 November 2011 to check it for leaks, before all three went onto the roof to carry out the repairs.

The court heard the workers wore hard hats and high-visibility jackets, but that neither of those items would have saved their lives if they had fallen through one of the fragile panels or off the edge of the roof.

Davidson Williams (Merseyside) Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 by failing to take measures to prevent workers being injured in a fall.

The company, of Corporation Road in Birkenhead, was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £1,500 towards the cost of the prosecution.