A POOLE construction company has been fined £4,000 after a carpenter received serious injuries when he fell three metres from scaffolding.

Michael McCarthy, 60, from Verwood, was working on a house extension when he fell and was left with serious and permanent injuries, said the Health and Safety Executive.

He was contracted by PO Sharps Landscapes Ltd to construct the roof of the extension at a property in Radipole Road, Poole, three years ago.

The extension was being built above an existing garage, which protruded beyond the face of the main building, causing a step in the scaffold at roof level of the garage.

On September 20, 2008, Mr McCarthy descended the ladder and stepped backwards over the open edge, falling three metres and fracturing his spine and ankles.

The Health and Safety Executive, prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court, found the platform had no guard rails and a ladder used to access the working platform above was positioned outward, forcing anyone using the ladder to stand backward at the unguarded edge.

PO Sharps Landscapes pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £4,000 with £4,000 costs.

After the hearing HSE inspector Frank Flannery said: “Falls from height can cause significant and life-changing injuries and duty holders must take steps to prevent falls wherever possible.

“Mr McCarthy’s injuries are serious and permanent: he has a steel rod in his back, steel pins in his right ankle, and left foot/heel. He suffers with chronic pain and has no prospect of working again.

“This incident could easily have been prevented by erecting guard rails along the platform,” he said. The company declined to comment.