Company fined over church steeple fall death

A specialist construction company has been fined £60,000 after a 64-year-old worker fell to his death while working on a church steeple.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said David Clover had been carrying out restoration work on St Nicholas' Church in Kings Norton, Birmingham, in November 2020.

An HSE investigation found the chair he was suspended in did not have a suitable backup system to prevent falls.

Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks Ltd admitted a charge relating to Work at Height Regulations and was issued the fine at a hearing at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 15 January.

The HSE said the tower Mr Clover had been working on was 60m (197ft) tall and he had been sitting in what is known as a bosun's chair when he fell.

The investigation concluded the company, which has ceased trading since the incident, should have had a backup system, such as a double or twin leg lanyard fall arrest harness.

The HSE said falls from height claimed the lives of 50 people in 2023-24 and was one of the biggest causes of workplace fatalities and major injuries.

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