Nobody Covered the Hatch.

13 May 2024. A roofer is stripping insulation from a roof space in Wimbledon. There is a loft hatch in the floor. Nobody identified it during planning. Nothing is over it.

Mark Smith steps onto it.

He falls approximately eleven feet onto his back. He fractures his L1 vertebra and his hip. He has not been back to work since.

Willow Services (Southern) Limited subsequently terminated his employment.

The company, based in Waterlooville, Hampshire, had failed to properly plan the work at height, failed to put fall prevention measures in place, and failed to provide competent supervision. The HSE investigation found the people overseeing the job lacked the training and experience to keep the site safe.

HSE Inspector Laurence Goodacre: "This incident was entirely avoidable and resulted from a failure to properly plan the work and provide competent supervision." Entirely avoidable. Two words that should follow this company forever.

One loft hatch. Not identified in planning. Nothing put over it. That is the whole story.

Willow Services appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 30 April 2026. They pleaded guilty. They were fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £5,607 in costs. Twenty thousand pounds.

For a fractured spine. For a fractured hip. For a career he has not been able to return to. For a man who went to work one morning in May 2024 and has not been back since. The company that left a loft hatch unguarded, sent a man through it, and broke his back walked away for less than the cost of a decent second-hand van.

The law is clear. Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires employers to properly plan any work at height, ensure it is appropriately supervised, and carry it out safely. Every opening that someone could fall through must be identified and protected before work starts. Not during. Before.

If you are working on a roof, in a loft, or anywhere above ground, that protection is not a favour. It is a legal requirement. If it is not there, stop work. That right exists whether your employer acknowledges it or not. Use it.

Mark Smith did not get that chance. Make sure you do.