On 23 January 2026, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported the conviction of a construction site manager after he obstructed HSE inspectors and threatened them during a live safety intervention on a cottage refurbishment project in Staffordshire. The case matters for two reasons: it combines high-risk working at height with deliberate interference in lawful inspection activity both of which increase the likelihood of serious injury and weaken the enforcement system that prevents harm.
What happened
During routine inspections on 11 February 2025, two HSE inspectors observed two people accessing a roof from the bucket of an excavator. Treating the activity as unsafe, they attended the site to stop the work and inspect conditions. The individual later identified as the site manager refused to identify himself (claiming the name “James Bond”), denied inspectors rights to inspect, and then issued threats of violence, causing inspectors to withdraw for their safety.
A week later, inspectors returned with Staffordshire Police due to the earlier threats. Lane again refused to cooperate, instructed workers not to engage with HSE, and repeated claims that HSE had no right to inspect. Following enquiries, HSE identified him as the site manager and served enforcement action. He was prosecuted for obstruction under two counts of section 33(1)(h) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). On 9 January (trial in absence after failing to attend court twice), he was found guilty and fined £3,000, with £6,450 costs and a £1,200 victim surcharge.
Hazards involved
1) Working at height using an excavator bucket
• Potential falls from height due to unstable footing, lack of guardrails, and uncontrolled movement.
• Possible crushing/entrapment if the bucket or boom moves unexpectedly.
• Falls could be caused by sudden hydraulic movement, poor communication, or operator error.
• Objects could be dropped endangering workers below and the public.
This aligns with the core purpose of the Work at Height Regulations 2005: preventing death and injury from falls.
2) Unsafe plant use and lifting activity
An excavator is not a people lifting platform unless specifically designed, properly selected, and operated under a planned, controlled method. Improvised lifting drives catastrophic risk because it bypasses engineered protection.
3) Work-related violence and intimidation
HSE defines work-related violence as abuse, threats, or assault related to work, including verbal threats. Violence towards inspectors forces withdrawal, delays controls, and leaves unsafe work running longer.
Legal duties
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA)
• HSE Inspectors have statutory powers (including entry, inspection, investigation, taking photographs, and requiring information) under HSWA section 20.
• Intentional obstruction of a HSE Inspector is a criminal offence under HSWA section 33(1)(h).
Work at Height Regulations 2005
Duty holders must avoid work at height where reasonably practicable, and where not, prevent falls through suitable planning, competent supervision, and appropriate work equipment selection and use.
CDM 2015 (construction management duties)
Those controlling construction work must plan, manage, monitor, and coordinate the construction phase so work is carried out safely this includes controlling high-risk activities and site behaviour. Principal contractor style duties (where applicable) include coordination and risk management across the site.
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) place specific duties on employers and duty holders to ensure all lifting operations are properly planned, supervised, and carried out safely. These regulations also require lifting equipment to be fit for purpose, appropriately marked, and regularly examined by a competent person.
Control measures
1) Safe access for roof work
· Avoid height where possible: complete tasks from ground level (prefabrication, extendable tools, ground-based installation).
• Use designed access systems: properly designed scaffold with edge protection mobile scaffold towers erected by competent persons Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) selected for task and ground conditions.
• Install collective protection first: guardrails, toe boards, brick guards, protected openings controlled ladder use only for low-risk short-duration tasks when justified.
• Rescue planning: a practicable rescue method for MEWP/scaffold incidents, not reliance on emergency services.
• Competence and supervision: trained operators, trained working-at-height personnel, site inductions, and active monitoring.
· In construction, every lifting operation must be governed by a site-specific Risk Assessment and Method Statement (RAMS) that has been authored, technically verified, and signed off by a Competent Person to ensure a safe system of work.
B) Plant and lifting controls
• Prohibit lifting people in excavator buckets unless a purpose-designed, certified people-lifting arrangement is in place and specifically planned.
• Segregate plant and pedestrians define exclusion zones beneath overhead work control reversing and slewing zones.
• Pre-start checks, maintenance assurance, and clear communication (banksman where needed).
C) Inspection readiness and zero tolerance to violence
• Site rule: cooperate with regulators and designate a competent site contact to accompany inspectors and provide documents.
• Behavioural controls: explicit ban on threats/intimidation and disciplinary response for abusive conduct.
• Worker communication: instruction that workers can speak freely to inspectors and no coercion or scripted claims.
• Lone working and escalation: internal procedure to pause high-risk work immediately or call police where threats emerge and record and preserve evidence (emails, CCTV, photos).
• The site manager was setting a bad example with a poor attitude to H&S. Cultivation of a positive H&S culture is vital, especially in construction.
HSE says “We conduct more than 13,000 inspections every year and it is through this proactive engagement that we are able to advise employers on how they can improve their ways of working we only take enforcement action when the circumstances require it, HSE will not tolerate the obstruction of its inspectors, and may prosecute offenders in rare cases such as this, where this is necessary.”
Summary
This prosecution links two preventable failure modes: high-risk roof access via an excavator bucket and deliberate obstruction of lawful inspection, compounded by threats of violence. HSE’s position is clear: unsafe work must be stopped, inspectors have legal authority to enter and investigate, and obstruction under HSWA section 33(1)(h) can be prosecuted. The practical fix is equally clear: engineered access (scaffold/MEWP) controlled plant operations, and strict cooperation procedures that remove intimidation from the site environment.
