• Roofer risked lives of those working for him.
• He ignored HSE prohibition notice.
• Verbally abused inspector and failed to show at court.

A Cornish roofer has been sentenced after failing to comply with requests for information from an inspector for Britain’s workplace regulator.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received a concern after workers had been observed carrying out roof replacement work without any scaffolding being in place. The regulator identified unsafe work on a domestic roof being worked on by Steven Hendry, 40, from Liskeard, leading HSE inspector, Hatti Shipp, to serve a prohibition notice against him.

As a result, further information was requested from Hendry, however, he failed to comply with the request, which was made under Section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. HSE guidance states that individuals and companies must co-operate with inspections and investigations.

Hendry, trading as Apex Roofing & Property Services at the time, was verbally abusive towards the inspector. As well as ignoring the request for further information, he went on to do further work without scaffolding, completely ignoring the prohibition notice. He then chose not to attend court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

HSE defines work-related violence as ‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’. This can include verbal abuse or threats, including face to face, online and via telephone and physical attacks. It can include violence from members of the public, customers, clients, patients, service users and students towards a person at work.

Steven Hendry, t/a Apex Roofing & Property Services of Marthus Court, Liskeard, pleaded guilty to section 20(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Section 20(c). He was fined £400 and ordered to pay costs of £3,852 at Plymouth Magistrates Court on 25 November 2025. The court also approved an application made by HSE under s.42 of HSWA for Hendry to provide the information requested by them under section 20. He has until 1 March 2026 in which to do this.

HSE Inspector, Hatti Shipp, said: “Part of our role to prevent further risk of injury is to follow-up with companies or individuals who work unsafely, ensuring they are held accountable for improving conditions for workers and demonstrating to the HSE that they have done so.

“In this case, the defendant made it impossible for us to conduct this work and confirm the safety of those he was paying to undertake roof work.

“Not only did Hendry demonstrate a flagrant disregard to HSE and its powers, he was also verbally abusive to me in the process.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Daniel Pool and paralegal officer Gabrielle O’Sullivan.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Working at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death in the UK, with 35 people losing their lives in 2024/25. Guidance on working safely at height is available.
5. Relevant guidance on workplace violence and aggression is available.
6. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• Apprentice fell through fragile roof.
• One company failed to properly plan for the work.
• Second company failed to produce documents as part of investigation.

Two companies have been fined after an apprentice fell from height while installing CCTV in Weymouth.

The then 20-year-old electrical apprentice had been working for Tristan G Murless Limited at one of their sites at a commercial industrial estate at Lynch Lane on 13 July 2022. He had been using a makeshift crawling board when he fell around 11 feet through a fragile roof to the concrete floor below.

The incident took place on the roof of a lean-to attached to a main warehouse. The project involved the installation of electrical cables and conduit around the perimeter of the warehouse in readiness for the installation of CCTV.Mr Senior lost consciousness at some point prior to the arrival of the ambulance and could not feel his body. He was unable to walk temporarily after the incident and sustained injuries to his back, including muscular tissue damage which requires physiotherapy.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Tristan G Murless Limited failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees, by failing to properly plan and provide suitable equipment to prevent the fall through the fragile roof.

• Working at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death and HSE has detailed guidance on working safely at height.

HSE guidance states that employers must ensure that work at height is properly planned, appropriately supervised, and carried out in a safe manner and that the planning should include the selection of work equipment. Every employer should take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent any personal falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. Workers should not have worked on the fragile roof where it was avoidable. Where roof work is not avoidable, edge protection, roof coverings and stagings or similar should be in use to stop a fall, with personal fall protection where needed.

A second company – Ellis and Partners (Bournemouth) Limited – has also been fined after they failed to comply with a HSE demand to produce documents to assist its criminal investigation into the incident. The request was made by HSE inspector Rebecca Gittoes under section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Tristan G Murless Limited of Avon Close, Weymouth, Dorset pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £4,168 in costs at Bristol Magistrates Court on 28th November 2025

Ellis and Partners (Bournemouth) Limited of Dean Park Crescent, Bournemouth, Dorset pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 20(2)(k) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,200 in costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Rebecca Gittoes said: “Every year, a significant proportion of incidents, many of them serious and fatal, occur as a result of poor work at height planning.

“In this case, a young man at the start of his career was failed by his employer.

“Had the company suitably risk assessed the task, provided suitable work equipment and a safe system of work, this incident would not have happened.

“The case brought against Ellis and Partners (Bournemouth) Limited should also underline to everyone that the HSE and the courts take a failure to comply with section 20 very seriously.

“We will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not co-operate by failing to provide requested documents.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and paralegal officers Daniel Adams and Sarah Thomas.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in Scotland can be found here.

• Chris Keegan died after being fatally injured at his place of work
• West Yorkshire plant hire company fined £433,550
• HSE found the forklift had not had a full inspection to ensure it was safe to operate after repairs.

The family of a much-loved man have spoken of his ‘horrific’ death at work following the prosecution of his employer this week.

Chris Keegan was killed on 20 November 2023 while working for Hessle Plant Ltd as a delivery driver at its main depot in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Chris’ widow Dianne said: “Chris was a wonderful, kind and generous man, who would do anything he could for anyone. He especially did anything he could for me.

“My heart is broken, and I will never get over losing my husband in such a horrific way. He never deserved to die in such tragic circumstances.”

Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Keegan had been tasked with returning the forklift truck to a customer’s site in Sheffield following repair work to its transmission.

As he reversed the vehicle onto the trailer shortly after 6am, it fell from the side of the trailer bed. Mr Keegan was thrown from the seat and became trapped between the chassis of the forklift and a neighbouring trailer.

Mr Keegans wife and two of his stepdaughters arrived at the depot as the emergency services fought to save Chris’ life, but tragically his injuries proved fatal, and he passed away at the scene.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the forklift had not been subject to a full inspection to ensure it was safe to operate. Examination of the forklift by HSE after the accident found several other defects which should have been identified and rectified before it was operated.

The investigation found that whilst Hessle Plant Ltd would undertake a full pre-delivery inspection on forklift trucks being delivered to new customers, at the time of the accident the company did not do this for machines being returned to existing customers.

HSE also found that many of the company’s employees would rarely wear seatbelts when operating forklift trucks, and there was no system in place for monitoring and enforcing seatbelt use on site.

HSE guidance states that employers should ensure that work equipment – such as a forklift truck – has been properly maintained and inspected if necessary to ensure it remains in a safe condition to operate. HSE guidance also states that where seatbelts are fitted to a counterbalance forklift truck, they should be used. Further guidance for rider-operated lift trucks can be found at HSE’s website.

Hessle Plant Ltd, of Carrwood Road Industrial Estate, Glasshoughton, Castleford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £433,550 and ordered to pay £8,146.80 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge as Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 26 November.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector, David Beaton, said: “This was a tragic and preventable death. Mr Keegan was placed at undue risk by operating a machine with underlying maintenance defects, which he would have been unaware of when attempting to reverse the forklift in the dark onto a trailer with an exposed edge.

“Had Mr Keegan been wearing the seatbelt provided, the accident he suffered would likely not have proven fatal.

“Every year there are fatal accidents caused by machinery which has not been properly maintained or inspected, and forklift truck drivers not wearing seatbelts. This case should underline to all businesses, which hire out or operate forklift trucks, the importance of keeping machinery in efficient working order and ensuring the use of seatbelts by forklift drivers is appropriately supervised.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan and paralegal officer Stephen Grabe.

Further Information

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here Rider-operated lift trucks – HSE
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has played a key role in a major research project that has been recognised with a national award for innovation in sustainable transport.

The research project focused on critical safety research to support the safe deployment of hydrogen in aviation taking place over a three-year period between 2022 and 2025.

Project ZEST (Zero Emission Sustainable Transport), led by Airbus, received the ‘Shaping the Future’ award at the Aerospace Technology and Innovation Conference 2025 on 5 November.

HSE has been at the forefront of hydrogen safety research for more than two decades. It is 21 years since it was a founding member of HySafe, the European network of excellence supporting the safe introduction of hydrogen technologies.

As part of Project Zest, HSE carried out key experimental work to understand the risks associated with technologies for potential future hydrogen use.

Professor Stuart Hawksworth, Head of the Centre for Energy and Major Hazards at HSE’s Science Division, said:

“This award confirms the key role we play in leading research into the safe deployment of hydrogen. The Health and Safety Executive continues to drive international collaboration and publish influential research in this area.”

HSE’s work spans multiple sectors, from supporting the gas industry to assess hydrogen safety in infrastructure, to contributing to aviation research through the Aerospace Technology Institute’s (ATI) FlyZero programme. As founding members of the International Association for Hydrogen Safety and contributions to activities such as Research Priorities Workshop, HSE has helped set global expectations for research and collaboration.

The ZEST project builds on this legacy, reinforcing HSE’s commitment to advancing hydrogen safety as technologies evolve. HSE supported the Zest project working in collaboration with partners including Trelleborg, Senior Aerospace, Cranfield University, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Manchester Metropolitan University, the Universities of Bath and Strathclyde, and London South Bank University.

Notes to editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. The Aerospace Technology & Innovation Conference is an annual event showcasing advancements in aerospace research and development.
3. For more information on HSE’s work on hydrogen safety, visit www.hse.gov.uk.

• Worker suffered life-changing injuries.
• There had been a similar incident at the company in 2021.
• Company fined £200,000 and ordered to pay full prosecution costs.

A manufacturer of wood-burning stoves on the Isle of Wight has been fined £200,000 after an employee had his lower leg amputated following crush injuries caused when heavy metal sheets fell on him.

The man was working for A J Wells & Sons Ltd in Newport, when the incident happened on 15 August 2023. He had been moving a trolley loaded with approximately 30 pieces of sheet metal, each weighing more than 20kg, when it toppled over and fell onto his legs. His lower right leg was later amputated as a result of the injuries he sustained.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the work was not being carried out safely. Failures included the use of a trolley that was not suitable for transporting such loads, unclear routes throughout the factory for moving trolleys, and inadequate training for employees in the safe movement of heavy materials.

HSE also identified that a similar incident had occurred in November 2021, yet the task of moving heavy sheet metal had still not been adequately risk assessed. As a result, a safe system of work had not been introduced. Had appropriate changes been made following the earlier incident, this life-changing injury could have been prevented.

Employers are required to assess work activities and identify suitable measures to ensure tasks can be carried out as safely as reasonably practicable. Work equipment must be suitable for its purpose and employees must receive appropriate training. Further guidance on the Safe use of work equipment – Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). can be found on HSE’s website.

A J Wells & Sons Ltd, of Bishops Way, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5WS, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £9,056 in prosecution costsat Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on 25 November 2025.

HSE inspector Nicola Pinckney said:
“This is a particularly unfortunate case as lessons from a previous similar incident had not been learnt. This young man will be affected by this accident for the rest of his life and has to suffer the consequences of the company’s failings.

“I hope this case serves to highlight to the industry the importance of ensuring health and safety is taken seriously and all parts of workers’ employment are properly risk assessed, and risks are controlled.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Matt Reynolds and supported by HSE paralegal officer Farhat Basir.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases are available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here Safe use of work equipment – Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.