A homeowner was taken to court after he 'put builders' lives at risk' just to save a few quid. Abdul Rehman has been given a suspended prison sentence after he repeatedly refused to hire a proper scaffold and worked in the dark at his home in Old Trafford.
He began work on an extension on the semi-detached home on Kings Crescent. But in November 2020 work was put on hold after the Health and Safety Executive served an enforcement notice on him due to his use of an unsafe scaffold.
In November 2021 the same HSE inspector found that Rehman had hired builders to re-roof the house and that once again the work was being carried out without a proper fixed scaffolding. He was slapped with another prohibition notice, but continued to instruct, supervise and assist with the work.
Despite the sanction, the HSE say building carried on for several weeks and included work which took place in the dark. He was taken to court and pleaded guilty to breaching Work at Height Regulations and the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Magistrates in Manchester sentenced him to 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months, 180 hours of unpaid work and £6,450 in costs.
A HSE spokesperson said: "A fixed safe scaffold could and should have been erected around the perimeter of the roof, but Mr Rehman chose to put cost cutting at the expense of safety to ensure the replacement roof to his property was completed."
HSE inspector Phil Redman added: "This was a serious breach of the law and it is fortunate nobody was seriously injured or killed as a result of Mr Rehman choosing to ignore the repeated requests of the inspector to provide a safe means for work from height."
