Examples of bad health and safety practice found in random checks

Examples of bad health and safety practice have been discovered by health and safety inspectors after a series of random spot checks in Aberdeen.

Out of eleven sites which received unannounced visits from Health and Safety Executive (HSE) officials, all but one were found to be under-performing and ordered to stop from trading.

Jim Skilling, HM principal inspector of health and safety, said that inspectors were "appalled" at businesses' willingness to ignore basic safety precautions.

"We found poor standards across some quite basic things and considered that they were simply accidents waiting to happen, they could have resulted in serious injury or even fatalities," he added.

According to the HSE, falls continue to be the biggest cause of fatal injuries in Britain's workplaces, comprising 23 of the 77 worker deaths in construction in 2006 and 2007.

Last year 77 workers, ten of whom were from Scotland, died in the construction industry in Great Britain, with over half of these in the refurbishment sector.

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