A makeshift ‘staircase’ formed from a bag of sand and piles of blocks leading to the roof of a hut where wooden planks spanned the gap between the hut roof and the first floor of a development provided the only access to the first floor of the development. There was no edge protection to prevent falls.

There was also a 2.5m deep excavation with no precautions taken to prevent people falling into it and nothing to stop the sides collapsing in.

The work areas around the site were uneven, littered with obstructions and trip hazards. Building materials had been stacked to excessive heights and stored haphazardly. The toilet was filthy and had a leaking cold water supply.

That is what Health & Safety Executive inspectors found when they visited a building site in Wimbledon and, as a result, two construction companies have been fined £8,000 each with a total of nearly £4,100 costs.

Speaking after the hearing at City of London Magistrates Court, HSE Inspector Loraine Charles said: “Both these companies failed to understand the nature of their duties under health & safety law and failed to sufficiently improve conditions on the site despite repeated interventions by the HSE. We will not hesitate to prosecute companies that behave in this way.”

HSE Inspectors had served three Prohibition Notices ordering work to cease until health & safety standards had been improved.

However, when the officers returned to the site they found that while an attempt had been made to erect edge protection around the first floor, it was inadequate and people were working there in breach of one of the Prohibition Notices.

A new Prohibition Notice was issued stopping all work. Nobody from either company had sufficient training, experience or a recognised qualification in site management, said HSE.

Kubik Homes of Wimbledon and Bellway Developments of Bromley, Kent, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the 1974 Health & Safety at Work Act.