Two firms fined £18,000 after scaffolding collapse on railway lines

Two building firms have been fined a total of £18,000 after the scaffolding they erected collapsed onto a railway line at Aberystwyth station.

C. Sneade of Trwstllewellyn, Garthmyl, Powys, and their contractors MW Scaffolding of Glanyrafon Industrial Estate, Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth, pleaded guilty to two charges each under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The charges follow an accident on 22 February 2005 when a 52m-long, three-level-high section of system scaffolding on a building site adjacent to Aberystwyth railway station collapsed and obstructed the track.

No construction workers or members of the public were hurt.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) involving a scaffolding specialist found that neither company involved in the scaffolding's erection had undertaken specific design calculations to ensure its strength and stability. They had also failed to inspect it once it had been erected.

HSE inspector Wayne Williams said: "It was a matter of sheer good fortune that there were no injuries as a result of this incident. It was entirely foreseeable that a freestanding untied scaffold was at risk of toppling over. The companies involved should have been aware of the obvious risk of collapse and taken appropriate action to prevent it."

C. Sneade pleaded guilty to charges under Section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £5,000 on each charge and ordered to pay £20,000 costs.

At an earlier hearing, MW Scaffolding pleaded guilty to charges under section 2(1) and Section 3(1) of the same Act, and was fined £4,000 on each charge and ordered to pay £6,700 in costs.