A Cwmbran-based business has been fined £660,000 after a staff member fell through its roof and broke multiple bones and fractured his skull.

Safran Seats GB Limited is a leading manufacturer of aircraft seats. They were prosecuted after one of its employees suffered horrific injuries when he fell through a roof at their site on Llantarnam Industrial Park.

The incident happened on 19 May 2020.

Kevin Lewis, who was 62 at the time, suffered multiple broken bones, including eight to his ribs, his collar bone, as well as a fractured skull. He had been dismantling and removing a spraying booth when he fell more than seven feet through its roof.

He was knocked unconscious as he hit the concrete floor and suffered a bleed on the brain.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found inadequate planning of the work at height meant suitable equipment wasn’t used and insufficient instruction and training had been given to those carrying out the work.

Safran Seats GB Limited pleaded guilty at Cwmbran Magistrates Court on  14 June 2023 to breaching section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and fined £660,000. They must also pay costs of £13,472.

HSE Inspector Seren Linton said: “Those in control of any work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working.

“They should also provide the necessary information, instruction, and training to their workers on the safe system of working.

“If these basic practices had been followed, this incident would have been entirely preventable.”

The HSE said that 174 workers in Great Britain fell to their death at work between 2017 and 2022.