A Surrey-based company now in voluntary liquidation has been sentenced after a 16m length of scaffolding collapsed on to a Fulham street, blocking one lane of a road but miraculously missing pedestrians and traffic.

Alliance Building and Contracting Ltd, of Weybridge, was prosecuted by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation into the incident on 3 October 2011 identified safety failings.

Westminster Magistrates were told on 10 July that the firm was the principal contractor for a demolition and build project at a site in Lillie Road, Fulham. A 16m length of scaffolding collapsed and fell from the first floor level to the pavement below. It blocked an entire traffic lane of the road as well as the pavement.

The collapse happened at lunchtime on a normally busy thoroughfare just a short distance from a nursery and local schools.

HSE found that Alliance Building & Contracting Ltd had failed to manage the demolition phase of the work properly. The scaffold had been on the building site for a year and been left free-standing long after demolition had finished. The site had been left unattended for long periods and regular inspections of the scaffold for safety had not taken place.

Alliance Building & Contracting Ltd, of Monument Hill, Weybridge, was found guilty in its absence of a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Magistrates imposed a fine of £10,000 with costs of £7,190.

Speaking after the hearing, Inspector Charles Linfoot said: "Scaffold collapses are infrequent in the construction industry but when they occur they often cause serious injury, fatalities and major damage.

"Lillie Road is a busy one and it is a matter of chance that the collapse, brought about by the safety failures of Alliance Building & Contracting, did not have more serious consequences.

"The case shows how important it is to actively manage all the risks on a construction site and, in particular, to make sure inspections of scaffolding are carried out regularly.”

For information and advice about all aspects of construction safety, visit www.hse.gov.uk/construction