A ROOFING company has been fined £50,000 after a trainee roofer fell through a rooflight. The Letchworth Roofing Company, based in Works Road, Letchworth GC, was also ordered to pay £23,000 costs as a result of the incident in January last year when 23-ye

A ROOFING company has been fined £50,000 after a trainee roofer fell through a rooflight.

The Letchworth Roofing Company, based in Works Road, Letchworth GC, was also ordered to pay £23,000 costs as a result of the incident in January last year when 23-year-old trainee Paul Lee Jarman fell eight metres and suffered a fractured jaw.

Mr Jarman also suffered soft tissue injuries during the fall as he was replacing rooflights at a Curry's Store in the West Midlands. He has since resigned from the company.

The fine was issued by Birmingham Crown Court last Friday following a successful prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The roofing company pleaded guilty but all the facts of the accident could not be agreed.

A company spokesman said it was a "very unfortunate, isolated, accident" and "is both regrettable and upsetting for all concerned".

He said: "We are members of Britannia Safecontractor, Construc-tionline and the British Safety Council and spend a considerable sum of money each year for ongoing health and safety training and auditing but at the end of the day our operatives are expected to follow carefully laid down procedures.

"This accident occurred in January 2005 and there has since been a management buy-out and the management team have imposed even more stringent measures in an attempt to prevent a repeat of this very unfortunate accident.