Roofer dies after falling from potato box

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Denis Thornhill and his company, D.S. Thornhill (Rushton) Limited, have been fined a total of £16,000 following the death of 64-year-old roofer Mark Young at Moss Hall Farm on February 1, 2021.

Earlier this year, both Thornhill and his company were found guilty of breaching health and safety regulations after a six-week trial at Chester Crown Court. Although 78-year-old Thornhill was acquitted of gross negligence manslaughter, the court reconvened last week to deliver the sentencing.

During the trial, it was revealed that Young had been hired to repair a roof panel and clear a blocked gutter. While working, he accidentally damaged another panel, which led to a decision to replace it. Young returned to the site three days later with his son to finish the repairs.

On that day, Thornhill arrived with a forklift truck equipped with a potato box, which was used to lift Young to the roof. Young was raised to a height of approximately 16 feet inside the makeshift platform, while his son attempted to reposition the panel from the roof above. However, as Young shifted his position inside the potato box, it became unstable, causing him to fall. He tragically sustained fatal head injuries from the fall.

HSE Inspector Ian Betley said after the hearing: “This was a tragic incident that could so easily have been avoided.

“The forklift truck and potato box were the wrong pieces of equipment for the job and never a suitable platform for working at height. The work should instead have been carried out using a tower scaffold, scissor lift, or a cherry picker.

“In bringing the forklift truck and potato box and using it to lift Mark at height, the company was in control of the work but had failed to implement proper planning and safe execution of it.

“All companies have a legal duty to ensure the safety of workers they employ or who carry out work for them. If that had happened in this case, then Mark’s life wouldn’t have been lost.”

A joint investigation by Cheshire Constabulary and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that on the day of the incident, there was no safe system in place for working at height, and inappropriate equipment was used.

Denis Thornhill, from Tarporley, Cheshire, was acquitted of manslaughter but found guilty of breaching safety regulations. He was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 in costs.

D.S. Thornhill (Rushton) Limited, also based in Tarporley, Cheshire, was similarly found guilty of safety breaches, resulting in a £12,000 fine and £10,000 in costs.