Royal Mail and Romec fined after engineer fell to his death (21/06/2006)

The Royal Mail and one of its contractors have been fined a total of £250,000 after an engineer fell to his death at a sorting office.

Romec employee Ian Dicker, 47, a married man who lived in NW8, was working on the main roof of the West London Mail Centre, by Paddington station, in July 2003 when he fell about 30 feet through a fragile skylight and into a corridor below. He died of multiple injuries.

Both the Royal Mail and Romec pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act after being prosecuted by Westminster City Council following a lengthy investigation.

Mr Dicker was supervising an apprentice who was working next to the skylight which was not marked as being dangerous. The apprentice was fixing an infrared light on the roof when Mr Dicker stepped forward to inspect his work and feel through the skylight. There was no safety rail or boarding to prevent someone falling.

Romec admitted they failed to ensure that the systems they laid down on paper for safe working were put into practice by their employees.

The Royal Mail admitted they failed to ensure the fragile rooflights at the sorting office were properly identified by signs and did not install a protective barrier round them.

Sentencing them at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court on Wednesday, June 15, the Judge His Honour Simon Smith, described the roof where the men where working as "very dangerous".

Royal Mail were fined £150,000 and ordered to pay the prosecution's costs of nearly £25,000.

Romec was fined £100,000 with costs of nearly £22,000.

Councillor Audrey Lewis, Westminster's Cabinet Member for Community Protection, said: "This was a needless death that could have been prevented if both these companies had obeyed the law.

"While I am pleased that our prosecution has been successful, if the Royal Mail and Romec had taken more care then Mr Dicker might be alive today."