WG Carter Ltd fined £120,000 after carpenter Richard Roper died from a first-floor fall during a Gloucestershire renovation project.
Oxfordshire-based construction firm WG Carter Ltd has been fined £120,000 following a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive. The penalty was handed down after 59-year-old carpenter Richard "Felix" Roper sustained fatal injuries from a first-floor fall while working on a refurbishment project at Manor Barn House in Nether Westcote, Gloucestershire.
The fatality highlights the ongoing enforcement action taken against main contractors who fail to implement and enforce standard edge protection and fall avoidance measures during complex domestic renovations. Refurbishment projects routinely expose tradespeople to temporary floors, unguarded voids, and incomplete structural work where strict working-at-height procedures are mandatory.
This penalty reinforces the critical need for subcontractors, sole traders, and site managers to invest in and consistently use correct fall protection equipment rather than cutting corners. Subcontracted carpenters and general builders working at height must insist on verified scaffolding, temporary edge protection, or correctly anchored harness systems before stepping onto upper levels. When sourcing safety equipment, site teams must look for certified BS EN-compliant safety decking, guardrail systems, and fall-arrest gear from established trade merchants, ensuring proper edge protection is budgeted into early project costs alongside standard timber and materials.
Tradespeople should refuse to work on unboarded or unguarded upper floors, ensuring that contractors provide fully compliant edge protection or temporary safety decking prior to starting timber framing or joinery work.
Reported by Construction News — original article
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