Essential Site Skills is urging construction employers to review how work at height is planned, managed and supervised following the release of CCTV footage showing the harrowing moment a scaffolder fell through a roof skylight while working at a warehouse.
A video no one in construction should ignore
The Health and Safety Executive published details of the incident on 10th June 2026, after two construction companies were fined a total of £79,300.
The case involved 26 year old scaffolder James Cranswick, who was installing temporary scaffolding edge protection at a warehouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire, when he stepped on a skylight and fell more than 6 metres to the concrete floor below.
According to HSE, Mr Cranswick broke his arm, broke his leg and suffered head injuries. CCTV footage showed him falling onto a pallet truck before landing on the warehouse floor.
A stark reminder of fragile roof risks
HSE found that both companies failed to plan, manage and monitor the work being undertaken by the scaffolders at the unit.
No measures were in place to prevent the scaffolders falling from the edge of the unit or through fragile elements of the roof. HSE also stated that the skylights were almost invisible to Mr Cranswick and that he was unaware of any fragile elements of the roof.
Essential Site Skills says the case is a stark reminder that roof work, skylights and fragile surfaces must never be treated as routine site hazards.
Safety cannot be treated as a tick box exercise
Catherine Storer, Industry Professional at Essential Site Skills, said:
“Videos like this are incredibly difficult to watch, but they are also a very real reminder of why site safety can never become a tick box exercise.
“One fall can change a person’s life in seconds. Falls from height continue to cause devastating injuries and deaths across construction, and many of these incidents come back to the same key issues, including poor planning, lack of supervision, unclear responsibility and people not fully understanding the risks before work starts.
“This case is particularly concerning because the danger was not obvious to the worker. If skylights are almost invisible and fragile roof elements are not properly identified or controlled, people can be placed in serious danger without realising it.”
Work at height must never become routine
Essential Site Skills says work at height should never be treated as just another everyday task without proper consideration of the risks involved.
Roof work, fragile surfaces, skylights, open edges, scaffolding, ladders, harness use and temporary access arrangements all require careful planning, suitable control measures and clear supervision.
The company is encouraging construction employers to review how work at height is managed across their sites. This includes considering whether risk assessments are suitable, whether fragile surfaces are clearly identified, whether supervisors are competent, whether workers understand the dangers and whether safety procedures are being followed in practice, not just recorded on paper.
The responsibility starts before work begins
Catherine added:
“It is easy to talk about health and safety after something has gone wrong, but the real responsibility sits before the work starts.
“That means asking the right questions, checking the right controls are in place and making sure people are not put in positions where one mistake can change their life forever.
“Construction is a high risk industry, but that does not mean serious accidents should be accepted as inevitable. Good planning, proper supervision and the right knowledge on site can prevent people from being seriously injured or killed.”
Turning awareness into action
Essential Site Skills says recent HSE cases should prompt construction businesses to review their own site arrangements and consider whether work at height risks are being properly understood, controlled and supervised.
The company says responsibility for preventing falls from height sits across all levels of a construction business, from directors and managers to supervisors and operatives on site.
Catherine said:
“Awareness is important, but it has to lead to action. Employers should not wait for an incident, near miss or prosecution before reviewing whether people on site are genuinely safe.
“If a task involves height, fragile materials, roof work or temporary access, the risks need to be properly considered before anyone starts work. Nobody should be placed in a situation where the consequences of poor planning are life changing.”
Source: Health and Safety Executive, “CCTV footage captures harrowing moment worker falls through roof”, published 10 June 2026.
