Risk news

A Cornwall hotel company has been fined for putting construction workers in danger at a site.

Newquay-based Bluechip Hotels was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after breaking the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

HSE inspectors found that a bridge over an excavation site did not have any guardrails, potentially putting the lives of construction workers at risk.

Blocked walkways also concerned the inspectors, but despite being served with two Improvement Notices, the company was found to have not made any changes when the HSE made a follow-up visit to the site.

Inspector Barry Trudgian stated the companies must not treat health and safety as an afterthought.

"Forty one employees suffered major injuries following falls from height in Cornwall in 2008-09," he commented.

"This toll may have been even higher if the unsafe working practices at this site had continued."

According to HSE figures, more than 4,000 workers suffered major injuries as a result of a fall from a height during 2008-09.

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