YORK house builder Persimmon has been fined after workers on a development site were injured when they fell from unsafe scaffolding.

Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard that two bricklayers were working for Persimmon Homes Ltd on a development site in Ploughman’s Lane, Bunkers Hill, Lincoln, when the incident happened on April 4, 2012.

They were about to start work on a scaffold platform, six metres from the ground, which had been loaded with materials, but just as they started work, the scaffold collapsed and they fell about two metres on to a platform below.

A 62-year-old bricklayer broke his left foot and was unable to work for nine weeks while a 29-year-old bruised his neck and twisted his knee.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found The Cathedral Scaffold Company Ltd of Lincoln had constructed the scaffold to bridge a narrow gap between the gable ends of two neighbouring properties but the company did not build it to a recognised design and Persimmon subsequently overloaded the platform, causing it to collapse.

The construction company, based in Fulford, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(b)(i) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £10,426 costs. The scaffolding company pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(b)(ii) of the same Regulations and was fined £4,000 with costs of £5,500.

Simon Usher, deputy managing director at Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, said the company was sincerely sorry about the incident, adding: "Health and safety on site is of paramount importance to Persimmon Homes at all times. We are pleased that our employees returned to work with us following their full recovery from the accident."