Firm fined after six-foot fall killed dad

A man died when he fell from a scaffold while putting a sign outside a shop.

Iftikhar Mughal, 64, was on a 6ft (1.8m) platform that had no guard rails when he fell to the ground in Darwen, Lancashire, on 22 November 2022, and died five days later.

WH Metals, of Navigation Way in Preston was fined £45,000 and its director Waqas Hanif was given a 26-week suspended sentence at Bolton Magistrates’ Court after both admitted health and safety law breaches.

Mr Mughal’s son, Asad, said he and his siblings had been left feeling “alone” since his death.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company and its director, who was on site at the time of the incident, failed to prevent the risk of a fall from a distance liable to cause personal injury.

The HSE said Mr Mughal was unlikely to have died if the rails had been in place.

HSE inspector David Hobbs said: “Work at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death.

“In this case, a fall of six feet was enough to cause a death, highlighting the dangers.

“This incident highlights the importance of suitable control measures, such as edge protection, to minimise the risk of serious personal injury.”