A collapsed construction firm has been fined more than £40,000 for breaching safety regulations
Renols LLeshi’s family said knowing his death was “entirely avoidable” had made their loss “harder to cope with”(Image: HSE)
A 19-year-old labourer died after falling down a ventilation shaft in a “wholly avoidable” tragedy on an Acton building site. Renols Lleshi was helping to dismantle scaffolding on the 12th floor roof garden of a block of flats under construction at the Ark Soane Academy site in Mill Hill Road on July 5, 2023.
The covering gave way as he stepped onto the ventilation shaft, plunging the teenager six floors to this death. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered the vent had been covered only by a sheet of plasterboard and roofing foam.
The inadequate protection remained undetected because regular inspections of the building failed to include the roof garden area, and no warning was issued to the scaffolding team, the regulator said.
Renols’ employers admitted to breaching safety regulations at City of London Magistrates’ Court earlier this week(Image: Alphotographic/Getty Images)
Jerram Falkus Construction Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was handed a £42,200 fine. The 140-year-old firm was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs and a £2,000 surcharge at City of London Magistrates’ Court on March 18.
HSE Inspector Natalie Prince said: “Falls from height are one of the biggest causes of workplace fatalities and major injuries. This was a wholly avoidable incident that led to the death of a young man.”
In a statement given to the safety watchdog, Lleshi’s family said knowing his death was “entirely avoidable” had made their loss “harder to cope with”.
His father added: “We are grateful to the Health & Safety Executive for their efforts to investigate the accident and prosecute one of those responsible for Renols’s death. However, nothing anybody can do can bring our loved one back or lessen our grief in any way.”
Jerram Falkus Construction ceased trading last month and called in administrators from FRP Advisory. The company was family-owned and operated across London and the South East.
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