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    Willow Services roofer fall: Work at Height Reg 4 lessons for site engineers

    May 11, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    Willow Services roofer fall: Work at Height Reg 4 lessons for site engineers

    First reported on The Construction Index

    30 Second Briefing

    Willow Services (Southern) Ltd has been fined £20,000 plus £5,607 costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after roofer Mark Smith fell approximately 11 feet through an unguarded loft hatch while re-roofing a house in Waterlooville on 13 May 2024, suffering fractures to his L1 vertebra and hip. HSE investigators found the company had not planned the work at height, failed to install basic fall prevention around the loft opening, and provided no competent supervision. The case signals continued strict enforcement of Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 on small contractors.

    Technical Brief

    • Incident occurred while stripping internal insulation within the roof space, not during external roof work.
    • The loft hatch opening was completely unprotected and had not been identified as a fall hazard.
    • Fall distance was approximately 11 feet from loft level to the floor below.
    • Injuries included fractured L1 vertebra and hip, assessed as life-changing with long-term incapacity.
    • HSE found no competent supervision; those overseeing works lacked construction safety training and experience.
    • Investigation concluded work at height had not been “suitably planned” as required under Regulation 4(1).
    • Sentencing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 30 April 2026 included £20,000 fine plus £5,607 costs.

    Our Take

    Waterlooville and the wider Hampshire area appear only sporadically in our safety-tagged database, so this prosecution of Willow Services (Southern) Ltd is likely to stand out locally and may prompt other small contractors in the region to review loft and roof access controls before HSE arrives on site.

    The use of Regulation 4(1) in this 2024 incident aligns with other recent UK enforcement actions where HSE has targeted planning and organisation of work at height, suggesting that documentation and risk assessment quality are now as scrutinised as the physical edge protection itself.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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