A COMPANY hired to carry out refurbishments on a major Tyneside store has been fined £10,000 for the dangerous state of its building site.

Stoneforce Ltd were contracted to renovate the new BHS shop on Northumberland Street, in Newcastle city centre.

But complaints soon started to flood in to the Health and Safety Executive about the safety of the site.

An initial inspection discovered more than 60 workers were exposed to the risk of falling 9m (30ft) from the roof as large gaps were left between the edge and scaffolding.

Other failings were also found, including a large hole in the floor leading to the basement, which hadn’t been fenced off.

Yet, despite investigators raising some of the issues with bosses at Stoneforce Ltd, little was done following the preliminary probe.

Stoneforce, based in Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Health and Safety Act from last February at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court and was fined £10,000.

The court heard staff were having to work on a roof which had not been secured properly, there was a large hole in the floor, which led to the basement, which also hadn’t been fenced off, and there were planks of wood with nails sticking out on the ground. The court also heard the site was “more like a rubbish dump than a works site” and there were not adequate sanitary and toilet facilities for staff.

Fining the company £2,000 for each of the five breaches with £5,195.70 costs, District Judge Gary Garland said: “The site was more like a rubbish dump than a works site. Because of all that mess.”

He added: “We have heard the HSE facts and I accept that, as far as Stoneforce are concerned, there are no previous convictions that aggravate these offences.

“Importantly, Stoneforce seem to have co-operated with the HSE.

The director is concerned to the extent that he’s anxious to learn what lessons can be learned and will be working with the HSE.

“The most aggravating part of this case is that there are five offences of different natures, which adds up to quite a bit more than if they had been isolated acts.”

HSE Insp Andrea Robbins said: “Numerous failings were found on this site, including serious risks from falls from height that could have resulted in major injuries or even death.

“Falls from height are still the largest cause of deaths in the construction industry, accounting for half of all fatalities and more than a quarter of all major injuries.”

Alan Millband, mitigating for Stoneforce, which has been in business since 1995, said fencing around the roof and hole in the floor and a site cabin had presented an unexpected obstruction and had to be removed for safety reasons.

He said: “This was not a case where the failings were for financial reasons ... they didn’t arise out of deliberate shortcuts. It was poor site management.”

Mr Millband also said lessons had been learned.