Building firm fined over £40,000 after 'wholly avoidable' death of 19-year-old labourer in West London

A construction firm has been ordered to pay out almost £50,000 after a teenage labourer was killed falling down a ventilation shaft in a "wholly avoidable" tragedy at a London building site.

Renols Lleshi, 19, was helping to remove scaffolding on the 12th floor roof garden of a block of flats being built at the Ark Soane Academy site, in Mill Hill Road, Acton, on July 5, 2023.

As Renols stepped on to a ventilation shaft, the covering collapsed and he plunged six floors to his death.

His employer, Jerram Falkus Construction Limited, pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £42,200, a surcharge of £2,000 and £5,000 in costs at City of London Magistrates Court on Wednesday, March 18.

Renols' father said: "My family and I are devastated by the loss of Renols. To know that his death was caused by an accident which was entirely avoidable only makes our loss even harder to cope with.

“We are grateful to the Health & Safety Executive for their efforts to investigate the accident and prosecute one of those responsible for Renols’ death. However, nothing anybody can do can bring our loved one back or lessen our grief in any way.”

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the ventilation shaft had been covered only by a sheet of plasterboard and roofing foam.

Routine inspections of the building did not include the roof garden area, meaning the inadequate covering went undetected and no warning was given to the scaffolding team.

HSE inspector Natalie Prince said: "Falls from height are one of the biggest causes of workplace fatalities and major injuries.

“This was a wholly avoidable incident that led to the death of a young man. My thoughts are with Renols’ family and friends."