A WORKMAN plunged through a fragile rooftop after an east Dorset firm ignored repeated safety warnings, a court has heard.

Graeme Smith, 42, suffered a broken pelvis and a punctured lung when he stepped on a thin rooflight and fell eight metres to the floor below.

Ferndown Demolition and Salvage was fined £4,000, plus £1,656 costs, at Bournemouth Magistrates' Court for health and safety breaches.

The court heard that the company had already received three warnings about poor safety precautions during work on rooftops.

Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive launched a full investigation following the incident at the old Texas garden centre in Poole in 2002.

Ferndown Demolition had won the contract to demolish the buildings on the site, but had decided to speed up work by using men on the asbestos cement roof, instead of setting up platforms, the court heard.

The accident was "preventable by following published guidance and using simple precautions", said the HSE.

Since the incident, the company has taken steps to improve its working practices.

But in April, a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court fined the firm £4,500 for illegally tipping and burning waste at a farm near Wimborne.

Speaking after the case, Andrew Gordon from the HSE said: "Every year, a considerable number of people are killed or sustain permanent brain injuries through falls through roofs."

First published: Sept 25