Scaffolding company fined

Dangerous and unlicensed scaffolding has landed a company with fines and costs of £1,300.

The owners of Unlimited Scaffolding Ltd, based in the West Midlands, were fined £400, ordered to pay £860 costs and £40 victim surcharge after admitting erecting the unlicensed scaffolding at St George’s Terrace in Brighton.

Len Batten, prosecuting on behalf of Brighton & Hove City Council. told magistrates how on February 26 this year, a council highway enforcement officer noticed scaffolding at St George’s Terrace which was not displaying a licence and, in his opinion, posed a danger to pedestrians and motorists.

The scaffolding was free standing and not tied into any building, or marked with high visability tape or any padding. Scaffolding poles were at an angle across the pavement and could not easily be seen by pedestrians.

The company failed to respond to the officer’s request to make the scaffolding safe, and as a result, the council instructed another company to remove the structure.