Two firms have been fined a total of £126,000 plus costs after the death of a workman at a hotel in Buckinghamshire. John Robinson of Milton Keynes died when he fell 100ft when scaffolding collapsed at the 11-storey Jurys Inn in April 2006. McAleer & Rushe from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and Lee Smith Carpentry, from Hampshire, admitted breaches of health and safety. They were fined £90,000 and £36,000, respectively.
Huntingdon Crown Court heard Mr Robinson was fitting tiles, which each weighed as much as a packed suitcase, to the side of the building when the scaffolding collapsed. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the prosecution, said he had been working with his son Mark on the 15th level of 19 levels of scaffolding. Mark Robinson and electrician Ivan Penkov both suffered serious injuries. About 200 people were working on the site, but the accident occurred during a lunch break and many were in the canteen.
Judge Nicholas Coleman said the accident was a disaster waiting to happen. There had been previous concerns about McAleer and Rushe's management of scaffolding, and it was suggested that commercial pressure may have outweighed health and safety considerations.
Both companies have apologised for the accident.
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