Inspectors condemn one in two building sites in London

Half of the London construction sites visited in a week-long safety blitz last month were so dangerous the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had to stop the work and enforcement action was taken against almost two-thirds of the sites visited.

Inspectors arrived unannounced at 223 construction sites during the blitz and 110 prohibition notices were served. Unsafe work was stopped on nearly half the sites visited for issues such as a failure to provide proper fall protection and a lack of welfare facilities. A further 11 improvement notices were issued, most for inadequate welfare facilities.

Of particular concern was the 40% of sites which got "falls from heights" enforcement action. This almost exactly mirrors the fatality figure for falls from heights at 44%.

The HSE said: "It is clear that the industry has still not got to grips with the falls from heights problem. Figures from the blitz show an unnacceptablly high level of enforcement for this issue. This is totally unsatisfactory, especially since warnings had been given that a blitz would take place. The industry must do more to address this problem in order to reduce fatalities and major injuries resulting from falls from heights."