A Contractor and its client working on a site in Wintney, Hampshire, have been fined a total of £8000 after being found guilty of dangerous working.
During a visit to the Dogmersfield Park site in January this year, HSE inspectors found that safeguards to prevent falls from height were not in place, and that the general public was at risk of being injured by plant.

Chamlore Developments of Aldershot was ordered to pay £6000 for breaking two sections of the Health and Safety at Work Act and one of the sections of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations.

Chamlore's client, developer Dogmersfield Park, was fined £2000 for contravening its duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, which require a client to appoint a competent principal contractor.

The two firms were told to pay £3238 in costs, split equally between them.

The prosecutions coincide with the second HSE campaign to reduce falls from height, which are the main cause of death and injury in the construction industry. The first blitz came in June and was followed by a Europe-wide campaign called "Don't Fall For It".

Andrew Gordon, a principal inspector at the HSE, blamed inexperienced developers for failing to train staff or to employ those able to comply with health and safety regulations.

He said: "This case shows that developers with very little knowledge of health and safety must ensure that they appoint someone, or train their own managers, to maintain their health and social responsibility."