Jury finds roofer died ‘from multiple injuries consistent with a fall from height’ while replacing skylights in Barnsley

Jonathan May, from Horbury, Wakefield, died while he was working for family-run Davis Industrial Roofing on Sunday, December 18, 2016, on the Carlton Industrial Estate in Barnsley. He was 39.

The father-of-two was working with two of his colleagues, Luke Davis and Benjamin Davis to replace 305 skylights at a warehouse owned by F&G Commercials, when he fell 39ft at around 9am.

On the first day of the inquest held at Sheffield Coroner's Court, Luke testified that they did not use any harness or ropes as an added safety measure as there was no way to connect them to the building.

Instead, they used a scissor lift to get to the roof and they used crawling boards to walk up and down the roof, which was made of cement fiber sheeting, which was fragile and could not be stood on.

He said when John was removing the bolts, he heard a 'cracking noise' and saw that John had fallen through the roof and later found him inside the warehouse and that he wasn't moving.

The inquest also heard from Benjamin who said that he heard a 'crack' of a rooflight breaking and as he turned around, he saw John's feet going through the hole.

He then went over and looked through the hole but he could not see him, shouting John's name but there was no response.

He also said that he wasn't using a harness or ropes as there was nothing to attach them to without damaging the roofs and that safety nets could not be used inside the building due to the racking that reached the top.

The inquest also heard testimony from David Hill, a specialist inspector for the health and safety executive.

According to him, nearly half of all fatalities from falls from a height were attributed to fragile roofs and materials.

On the last day of the inquest on Wednesday, April 6, all the evidence had been heard and the 11-person jury took almost two hours to return with a conclusion.

After the conclusion was read out in court, Assistant Coroner Tanyka Rawden apologised to John's wife, Louise May and her mum who were present at court.

Her first son, Lucas joined her on the first two days of the inquest.

She said: "I'm so sorry we've had to go through this process and I'm so sorry that John isn't with you anymore and those boys have lost their dad.

"I was so impressed with Lucas over the last few days. I have to say I was a bit scared when I found out he was 16, I thought maybe he was a little bit too young, but the questions he asked, what an intelligent young man."

Louise said her son struggled at first after his father's death as he was just starting high school and the youngest one was 'a bit of a blur' at first, but they are doing fine now.

She also said they are meeting with John's family and will be going on a holiday soon.

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