North Yorks building firm fined following death.

North Yorkshire building firm Peter Wright has been fined after the death of one of its staff in an accident.

The Thirsk-based firm, which trades as PW Joinery and Building Services, was fined £10,000 with £19,000 costs.

The employee, Derek Wensley, a self-employed labourer working for the firm, fell from an unsecured stepladder up to the first floor of a two-storey extension.

Teeside Crown Court heard that the stepladder on which he was carrying a bucket of mortar was too short to reach the first floor which was entered by passing through a gap in the flooring between joists.

Mr Wensley suffered fatal head injuries after he fell from the stepladder in the accident, which the Health and Safety Executive said could easily have been avoided.

The HSE said Peter Wright failed to supervise the work appropriately, and had not carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, which would have discovered the fault.

Mr Wright pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a single charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

HSE inspector Yolande Burns-Sleightholme said after the hearing: "Mr Wright’s failure to comply with his legal duty of care to those working on site led to this worker suffering fatal injuries.

"All employers need to ensure that risks from height are fully considered. HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those who fall so far below the required standards."