The two roofers fell more than three metres to the ground below when a scaffold gave way because other workmen began digging a trench near the base of the framework.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted both partners from the firm for breaching the health and safety laws which led to the incident.

Brighton Magistrates' Court heard a number of roofers at the new housing development were standing on scaffolding between two semi-detached houses. The scaffolding was loaded with tiles.

Down below, in order to install drain and sewer systems, two ground workers began digging a trench next to the foot standings of the scaffold. The standings of the scaffold were undermined by the removal of dirt to create the trench, which slipped into the trench.

As a result of the incident, one worker injured his lower back while a second received cuts to his head and tore a muscle in his shoulder. He was off work for two months.

One of the injured men said the incident had affected him deeply and admitted to still being nervous about climbing scaffolding to do his work.

The court was told the incident was caused by a number of parties carrying out their allotted tasks with little regard for others in terms of co-operation and co-ordination.

The scaffold was overloaded with people and building materials and there was neither suitable site supervision nor management of the tasks to be undertaken.

A HSE Inspector commented on the incident:

"Falls from height are the biggest causes of workplace deaths and it's crucial that employers make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out to protect staff from these risks."

"In this case, it is extremely fortunate that nobody was killed, however, it could have been so much worse.  If there was adequate management of the construction site, this incident could easily have been prevented."

The first partner in the company pleaded guilty to regulation 22(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 at court. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,832.

The second partner of the same company pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 at court today. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,832.