A roofing company director found guilty of manslaughter after one of his employees was killed in a 6m fall has been jailed for 12 months.
Colin Cooper, the owner of South-east firm IC Roofing, was today sentenced to the jail term as well as being handed down a £10,000 fine over the 2005 fatality.
His company was also fined £20,000 and Mr Cooper was disqualified from holding a director’s position for three years.
Last Thursday a jury at the Lewes Crown Court found Mr Cooper guilty of manslaughter due to gross negligence over the death of 20-year-old Darren Hoofe.
Mr Hoofe died while carrying out roofing repairs floor at a unit at the Bellbrook Industrial Estate in Uckfield.
The court heard he had not been wearing a harness and there was no safety net in place to catch him when he plunged through a skylight on to the concrete floor. He died in hospital the day after the fall.
The court was told Mr Cooper had failed to carry out the necessary risk assessment procedures for the work.
During the 13-day trial, jurors also heard that Mr Hoofe, a trained electrical engineer, was “inexperienced” and had only received limited training during the six months he had been employed by the company.
Mr Cooper had already pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of an employee under the Health and Safety at Work Act following an investigation by the Sussex Police and the Health and Safety Executive.