Broadband firm CityFibre fined £35,000 for endangering workers in Edinburgh roadworks

The worker in a manhole in the Craiglockhart area of Edinburgh on 27 February

Commissioner Angus Carmichael said the incident in February "could have resulted in a fatality" and demonstrated the company's "lack of compliance with road works legislation".

A video of the incident in Craiglockhart showed vehicles swerving around the contractor, who is only half visible to drivers.

He imposed the fine for its "serious failures" to comply with the laws, with the offences mainly happening in Edinburgh.

The incidents included "endangering road workers and the general public, non-compliance with the reinstatement specification, working without valid notification on the Scottish Road Works Register, a lack of qualifications and not cooperating with the City of Edinburgh Council."

Mr Carmichael said he imposed the fines after the firm's performance failed to significantly improve over the last year.

He said the findings of CityFibre's investigation into the February incident confirmed it had "systematically failed" to co-operate under the relevant law.

He said: "As the failures are of a very serious nature, compromising both safety and quality, I have decided to impose a significant penalty of £35,000 to send a clear message to all organisations undertaking road works that poor performance is unacceptable.

“CityFibre has provided me with an improvement plan and confirmed they are committed to improving their performance and complying with the legislation in future.”

The firm said after the Craiglockhart incident: "The construction worker shown in the video footage was working for KNNS, a CityFibre contractor.

“We have now invoked an immediate stop to all KNNS works conducted on behalf of CityFibre until the incident is fully investigated alongside KNNS management."