THESE alarming images show the shocking state of a construction site in Tameside where some of the labourers worked without protection – or even shoes.
A concerned neighbour sent the photos to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) during the construction of a home in Denton.
An inspection at the construction site on Gibraltar Lane followed in August 2020, and all work was stopped as the inspectors found a number of serious risks.
These included an excavation that was unprotected, leaving labourers in danger of a fall.
It also undermined another home, bringing it to the brink of collapse.
Some of the labourers, who worked on the excavation without protection, were found to be barefoot.
READ MORE: Firm fined £200k after worker loses two fingers while cutting a spring.
The principal contractor responsible for the construction site, Mustapha Matib, was investigated by the HSE after the inspection.
Manchester Magistrates' Court heard how Matib, of Allerton Road in Bradford, did not prepare a plan with risk assessments for the work, and did not appoint a manager suitable to oversee the work.
After admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, he was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months.
He was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay costs in excess of £5,000.
Phil Redman, an inspector for the HSE, said: "Inspectors will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against dutyholders who fall below the required standards and who put lives at risk."
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