Ask Scaffolding fined £16,000 after trainee died in five-metre fall near Ripon

Ask Scaffolding Ltd has been fined £16,000 at Leeds Magistrates' Court after a trainee scaffolder died in a five-metre fall from a partially erected scaffold on a housing development near Ripon, North Yorkshire.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the company, of Thornton Road Industrial Estate, Pickering, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1)(c) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It was also ordered to pay £8,000 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge on 4 November 2026.

According to HSE, Michael Swales was working for the firm on 5 July 2023 when it had been contracted to provide scaffolding for the development. He and a colleague were erecting scaffolding at the front of a two-storey house under construction when he stood on an unsecured scaffolding board and fell five metres. Emergency services attended, but he died at the scene.

HSE Inspector David Beaton said: "This tragic accident underlines the importance of those in control of scaffolding work making sure that it is being done safely and in accordance with industry guidance, and the potential consequences where this is not done."

What the investigation found

HSE said its investigation found Ask Scaffolding Ltd had failed to ensure work at height was carried out safely so far as was reasonably practicable. The regulator said there were inadequate measures in place to prevent or mitigate the risk of a fall.

On the day of the incident, HSE said, safe zones had not been established and neither Mr Swales nor his colleague was using a harness or lanyard.

The regulator also found earlier scaffolding work had not followed the guidance. A post-accident inspection identified guardrails missing where they should have been installed, and HSE said several witnesses indicated company operatives regularly carried out scaffolding work without following the guidance.

The regulator's lesson

HSE said industry guidance identifies collective protection measures that create a "Scaffolder's Safe Zone" as the primary means of preventing falls. Personal protection, such as a harness and lanyard, should be used when a scaffolder is working without a safe zone, it said.

HSE's scaffolding guidance says the key priority for scaffolders is to establish collective fall protection, that all scaffolding must be erected, dismantled and altered in a safe manner, and that trainee scaffolders must always work under the supervision of a trained and competent scaffolder. Every scaffold gang should, as a minimum, contain a competent scaffolder, the guidance says.

The regulator's work at height guidance adds that employers and those in control of any work at height must make sure it is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people. Regulation 4(1)(c) requires work at height to be carried out in a manner which is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe, according to legislation.gov.uk.

The National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) publishes SG04:22, which it describes as giving practical advice on preventing falls in scaffolding operations, aimed principally at those who manage such operations.

The wider picture

HSE's provisional statistics record 126 workers killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain in 2025/26. The regulator said falls from a height remained the most common cause of fatal injury, with 31 deaths, around a quarter of the total.

Construction had the highest number of worker deaths of any industry, HSE said.

Industry	Worker deaths 2025/26
Construction	25
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	22

Sarah Albon, Chief Executive of HSE, said when the figures were published: "Every one of these numbers represents a loved one lost; serving as a powerful reminder of the importance of the work we do."

Companies House lists Ask Scaffolding Ltd, company number 04210740, as active, with a registered trade classification of scaffold erection.

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan and paralegal officer Zara Salman. HSE noted that it does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect fines. Its 2025/26 fatality figures will be finalised in July 2027.