Director told staff to rip out asbestos

Staff at a Telford firm were ordered to rip out asbestos with a crowbar and clean up with a vacuum cleaner, a court heard.

Now a director of the company has been ordered to pay more than £17,500 after admitting a health and safety offence.

Roger Lavender, 37, of Shifnal, was fined £6,666 and ordered to pay £11,039.88 in court costs and a £15 surcharge after admitting an offence under the Health and Safety Work Act.

Shrewsbury Crown Court was told Lavender was the director of Secal Laser, Halesfield, Telford, when the employer failed to ensure work with asbestos was undertaken with a licence.

Mr James Puzey, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Lavender was involved in the decision-making which led to two employees removing asbestos in the factory on December 14, 2007.

He said: "What can be said is the precautions that a licensed contractor would have put in place were, to a large extent, not present.

"The managers and Mr Lavender went ahead and instructed two employees to do the job. The men were equipped with overalls, rubber gloves and head masks. They were told to clean up with a household vacuum cleaner.

"There were 40 boards. Some of these had to be removed with a crowbar and a number of them cracked."

The court heard Mr Lavender had seen a survey of the factory in 2004 which indicated asbestos and said a licensed contractor would be needed to remove it, but did not "refresh his memory" with the details.

Mr Paul O'Brien, for Lavender, said the incident was a disastrous combination of "incompetence and naivety", but was not done to save money.

Judge Mark Eades said: "It seems to me the primary culpability as far as you are concerned is you did not take the obvious steps you should have taken.

"The prosecution have said this cavalier approach was not done to save money or to save production time, but the risk to your employees was significant.

"We will never know to what extent your employees were exposed."