Director jailed – for supplying asbestos roof panels that led to fatal fall

Director jailed for 12 months for supplying roof panels containing asbestos. Not only was the sale illegal, but it contributed to the death or a steel erecter.

An  investigation by the HSE into the fall found that RM (who was the sole director of RM Developments (2005)) supplied second-hand roofing sheets containing white asbestos to a farming partnership that was building a barn in Frankley, Worcestershire. The farming partnership hired Mr Tony Podmore (a steel erector) to build the barn. However, on 8 June 2011, he fell through one of the fragile roof panels and landed on the concrete floor about six metres below and later died of his injuries. The court heard that the partnership paid £4000 for the roofing material and believed it would be of good quality. RM, however, supplied pre-used asbestos sheets, which he is understood to have obtained for free. RM paid £250 for transport and so made £3750 profit on the sale.

During a three day hearing, Worcester Crown Court heard that RM tried to convince witnesses to hide the panels after the fall. He later tried to persuade Mr Podmore’s family not to report the incident to the HSE, telling them he had fallen from the roof edge.

On 04 June 2014, RM of the sole director of the Shropshire based RM Developments (2005), was:

• sentenced to 12 months in prison
• disqualified from being a director for six years, and
• told to pay £10,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 37(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and Article 67(1) of the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals Regulations 2008. He changed his plea to guilty on the first day of the trial.

Following the trial, HSE inspector Luke Messenger said:

The supply of materials containing asbestos has been illegal for many years. Mr Marsh demonstrated a complete disregard for the law for his financial gain. In this case, the weak second-hand panels he supplied were a significant contributing factor to the death of Mr Podmore.