More than half of building sites in Cambridgeshire do not properly protect their workers, a Health and Safety Executive inspection has revealed.

In Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire, inspectors found that 52 per cent of the sites they visited failed to properly protect workers.

Out of 75 sites visited, dangerous practices were found at 39 sites and enforcement was required at 25 sites. Six prohibition notices and 36 improvement notices were issued.

HSE’s Construction Team lead for Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire, Linda Christian-Booth, said: “These results show that whilst the majority of employers in the refurbishment sector are getting it right, a significant part of the industry is seriously failing its workers.

“The inability to properly plan working at height continues to be a major issue, despite well-known safety measures being straightforward to implement.

“It is just not acceptable that inspectors had to stop work immediately on over 300 occasions because of dangerous practices.

“We also find health is often overlooked as its implications are not immediately visible, however the effects of uncontrolled exposure to deadly dusts such as asbestos and silica can be irreversible.

“We urge industry to ensure the most basic of measures such as use of protective equipment and dust suppression methods are put in place to help protect the future health of workers.

“We need to continue to educate industry through initiatives like this and encourage a change in behaviour on small projects where over half the industry’s fatal accidents still occur and many workers become seriously ill.”