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Updated Mar 7, 2011

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Company fined over roofer death

A Fife paper-making company has been hit with a penalty of £260,000 after failing to ensure the safety of one of its workers.

Thomas Sturrock, had been contracted to clean the roof of the premises owned by Tullis Russell. However, instead of using crawl boards to cross the fragile roof, Mr Sturrock and the other workers accessed the roof by stepping onto it.

The worker from Methil crashed through the roof and plunged more than 50 feet onto the concrete floor of the warehouse. An ambulance was called to the scene but the roofer was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of head injuries.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Tullis Russell Papermakers had instructed the contractor who employed Mr Sturrock to clear 24.5 tons of vegetation from the fragile roof of the factory at Southfield Industrial Estate. However, pre-contract safety paperwork had not been filled-in and Tullis Russell had failed to control, monitor and review the way the work was taking place.

Tullis Russell Papermakers Ltd of Glenrothes, Fife, were fined after pleading guilty to breaching the duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to ensure the health and safety of everyone at their premises, whether working directly for them or not.

Following the case, HSE Inspector Mac Young said, "Thomas Sturrock might be alive today if simple safety measures had been put in place. If Tullis Russell had ensured the contractor's activities were monitored then it is possible the incident with Mr Sturrock may have been prevented."

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