Roof death firm fined £260,000

A PAPERMAKING firm has been fined £260,000 for breaching health and safety guidelines after a workman fell almost 50 feet through a fragile roof to his death.

Thomas Sturrock, 32, from Methil, Fife, was working as part of a team for a contractor at Tullis Russell Papermaker Ltd's warehouse in Markinch, Fife, on 29 September, 2008.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard yesterday that Mr Sturrock's co-workers heard a cracking sound and realised that he had fallen through the roof to the concrete floor below.

An ambulance was called and paramedics pronounced Mr Sturrock dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination established he would have died immediately following the fall.

A Health & Safety Executive investigation found that when Tullis Russell Papermakers instructed the contractor to carry out the cleaning work, it failed to make sure the work was properly planned and organised, and that when the contractor's employees were at work they did not control monitor and review the way the work was taking place.

The contractor had advised Tullis Russell the team would be using crawling boards on the fragile roof. However, such boards were not used and in order to carry out the cleaning work, workers accessed the roof by stepping on to it.

Chris Parr, group chief executive of Tullis Russell, said after the judgement that they have reviewed safety since Mr Sturrock's death.