Have YOU got a story? Email Sam.Lawley@dailymail.co.uk See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy SAM LAWLEY, NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:59 BST, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 16:10 BST, 10 June 2026
This is the moment a scaffolder falls 20 feet through an 'invisible' skylight as two companies are fined £80,000 over the incident.James Cranswick, 26, was installing temporary scaffolding edge protection at a warehouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire in January 2025 when he plunged to the ground. The employee for Clover Access Systems Limited suffered a broken arm and leg as well as head lacerations, with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) officials saying he is 'lucky to be alive'.CCTV footage shot from the corner of the warehouse sees Mr Cranswick fall from out of the picture to the concrete floor among rows of packaged alcoholic and soft drinks. The worker - dressed in blue trousers and red top - crashes down to the ground, his fall broken by a metal stacker which his stomach appears to drive directly into.An array of poles and debris descends to the floor shortly after Mr Cranswick and scatter around the warehouse. He then rolls on the ground in agony, clutching his left leg and crying for help before three staff members in orange high-visibility jackets rush towards him around 15 seconds later.A photo of the warehouse taken from the opposite angle in the wake of the incident shows the ceiling panel Mr Cranswick fell through.The corrugated cladding material is pictured ripped to shreds leaving a huge hole in the roof. James Cranswick falls 20 feet through an 'invisible' skylight at a warehouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire for Clover Access Systems Limited in January 2025 CCTV footage shot from the corner of the warehouse sees Mr Cranswick fall from out of the picture to the concrete floor among rows of packaged alcoholic and soft drinks He then rolls around the ground in agony, clutching his left leg and crying for help before three staff members in orange high-visibility jackets rush towards him A photo of the warehouse taken from the opposite angle in the wake of the incident shows the ceiling panel Mr Cranswick fell throughTradesman Mr Cranswick had been on the roof carrying materials from one end of the unit to the other when he stepped on a skylight. The HSE subsequently launched an investigation to discover what caused the fall.Bosses found that both Clover Access Systems Limited and maintenance and construction company STM360 Limited failed to plan, manage and monitor the work being undertaken by the scaffolders at the unit.They discovered no measures were in place to prevent scaffolders falling from the edge of the unit or through the fragile elements of the roof.HSE officials also revealed the skylights of the unit were almost invisible to Mr Cranswick and he was unaware of any fragile elements of the roof.Clover Access Systems was fined £26,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,866 at Leeds Magistrates Court on June 4. The company is now in liquidation, it has emerged.STM360 Limited was meanwhile handed a £53,300 fine and told to pay £3,167 in costs.HSE Inspector Shauna Halstead said: 'Mr Cranswick is lucky to be alive after this incident.'His fall was wholly avoidable; the risks associated with work on, or around fragile surfaces are well-known, and HSE guidance is available to assist companies in complying with the law.'Everyone working in construction should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take enforcement action where roof work is not properly managed, as workers should not be needlessly put in harm's way.'
