Abraham Darby school canopy collapse firm fined £100,000
A construction company has been fined £100,000 over the collapse of a huge canopy at a school in Shropshire which left five workers seriously injured.
Safety measures had been neglected leading to the 40 tonne structure at the Abraham Darby Academy in Telford crashing to the ground more than two years ago.
The five roofers fell more than 40ft in what the Health & Safety Executive described as "a terror ride" when the heavy steel canopy buckled and collapsed.
All five men, from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire areas, suffered various injuries including fractures, broken bones and cuts and bruising.
One of the victims was airlifted to hospital following the collapse at the school in Madeley in August 2011.
An extensive Health & Safety investigation revealed that key sections of the 180ft steel framework supporting the canopy had been insufficiently welded together.
At Shrewsbury Crown Court, Worcestershire-based Adstone Construction Ltd was fined after admitting failing to ensure that persons not in its employment were not exposed to risks.
Judge Simon Tonking fined the Droitwich company £100,000 and said the potential for greater harm had been considerable.
"It was sheer good luck that no one was underneath the canopy at the time, as there had been earlier, with people working and coming and going from the building.
"The consequences would have been truly disastrous," he said.
