London Basement Company fined for safety breaches

The London Basement Company was fined a total of £9,000 and ordered to pay £2,701 costs at City of London Magistrates Court today for breaches of health and safety legislation.
A worker suffered serious pelvic injuries when clay fell on him during excavation work to create a basement beneath an existing building on a site in Hewer Street, London in December 2003.
Surrey-based London Basement pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996:
n Failure to prevent a worker becoming trapped by a fall of material.
n Failure to keep records of the excavation inspections.
n Failure to provide adequate washing facilities.
The magistrate also instructed that the maximum compensation award of £5,000 be paid to the injured worker.