02/06/2010 - Club fined for training ground fall
A worker was off work for six months after falling three metres through a roof during the redevelopment of Premier League football club Aston Villa's training ground.
The 34-year-old man broke bones in his heels when he was one of two contractors from Mechanical Cleansing Services Ltd working at the Bodymoor Health complex near Sutton Coldfield.
An old building on the site was being demolished and the company had been hired to drain fuel tanks on its roof.
The victim was cleaning the tanks and fell through a rooflight as he was heading towards a ladder to get down, Stratford on Avon Magistrates heard.
The club, its contractor and Mechanical Cleansing Services' director, Damon Roe, all admitted health and safety offences.
HSE inspector Carol Southerd said: "Work at height can be very dangerous if not properly planned and although the victim's injuries were severe, they could have been much worse.
"If the internal ladder had been used, then this incident would not have happened. A simple conversation with the club was all it would have taken to arrange for the blocked ladder to be cleared."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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