Lancashire: Sign Installer Dies after Falling from Scaffold Tower

A sign installation company and its director have been fined following the tragic death of a 64-year-old worker who fell from an unguarded tower scaffold while fitting signage.

Mr Iftikhar Ahmed Mughal was working for WH Metals Limited on 22 November 2022, installing a metal sign on the front of a retail unit in Darwen, Lancashire. While positioned on a mobile scaffold tower just six feet high, he fell from the unprotected platform, sustaining critical head injuries. He died in the hospital four days later.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the tower scaffold lacked essential edge protection—a basic and long-established requirement in working-at-height procedures. The company director was on site during the incident but failed to implement adequate fall prevention measures.

HSE guidance makes clear that guardrails must be used on all tower scaffold platforms to prevent falls from height. Despite the relatively low height, the lack of edge protection had fatal consequences.

Mr Mughal’s son, Asad Iftikhar, said:
“My father was like a roof to the family… He supported us in everything. Since his death, we’ve felt alone.”

At Bolton Magistrates’ Court on 23 September 2025, WH Metals Limited of Navigation Way, Preston, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £45,000 and ordered to pay £4,826 in costs.

Company director Mr Waqas Hanif pleaded guilty under Section 37 of the same Act. He received a 26-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay costs of £4,846.

HSE Inspector David Hobbs commented:
“Work at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities. A fall from just six feet was enough to cause death. This incident could have been prevented with simple and well-known control measures such as guardrails.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Samantha Wells, supported by paralegal officer Rebecca Withell.

Story Submitted by: David Hammond of Seymour Sign & Print Ltd