A HAMPSHIRE firm and one of its senior managers have been ordered to pay more than £13,000 in fines and costs after an employee fell through a roof and suffered “lifechanging” injuries.

The 25-year-old employee broke his back in several places and also suffered a catalogue of other injuries.

The incident left the member of staff in intensive care in hospital for ten days.

Practical Cladding Solutions, of Nutsey Lane, Totton, was fined a total of £9,000 after pleading guilty to breaking health and safety laws.

Senior manager Anthony Hibbard was fined a total of £3,000 after admitting similar offences.

The defendants were also told to pay £1,192 costs.

The accident happened in January after the company was appointed by West Sussex-based Styropack UK.

Practical Cladding Solutions had been asked to cut a hole in a roof and clad an extension.

At the time the employee was reported to have fallen through a skylight and plunged about 30ft.

Sussex Air Ambulance was called to Styropack’s premises on the Rudford Industrial Estate in Ford, near Arundel.

It airlifted the worker to the trauma unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Practical Cladding Solutions was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which issued a statement after the case at Worthing Magistrates’ Court.

It said: “A 25-year-old employee fell through an unprotected fragile roof light next to the work area.

“He broke four ribs and cut both lungs.

“His pelvis, hip and groin bone were fractured and his back was broken in several places.

“He spent ten days in intensive care and six weeks in hospital.”

The company was prosecuted for breaching health and safety laws that relate to people working at height.

Speaking after the case HSE inspector Russell Beckett said: “Work on fragile roofs causes a great deal of serious injuries and fatal incidents.

“Work at height must be properly planned, supervised and carried out in a safe manner.”

No-one from Practical Cladding Solutions was available for comment.