Fines Issued for Putney High Street Scaffolding Collapse

Two pedestrians were seriously injured after tower overturned

The haul of seized scooters, e-bikes and mopeds. Picture: Met Police

July 14, 2026

A construction company and its sole director have been fined after a scaffold tower overturned on Putney High Street, striking two members of the public and leaving them with serious injuries. The incident, which occurred on 19 July 2023, has led to sharp criticism from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which said the collapse was entirely avoidable.

Operatives working for Add Prop Limited had assembled a mobile tower scaffold outside a commercial building being converted into residential flats. The structure was erected under the supervision of the company’s sole director, Atif Riaz, who was acting as both project manager and site supervisor. According to HSE, the tower had been “assembled incorrectly” and without adequate separation from passing pedestrians. It was then covered in sheeting which, in windy conditions, “acted as a sail”, causing the entire structure to topple into the busy high street.

The falling scaffold struck and trapped two people, inflicting serious injuries.

An investigation found multiple and serious failings. Add Prop Limited had not ensured the temporary structure was designed, installed or maintained to withstand foreseeable loads, including wind acting on the sheeting. The company had previously been served with a Prohibition Notice for unsafe scaffold work at another site, a history that HSE said demonstrated ongoing shortcomings in safety management.

Inspectors also concluded that the tower had neither been assembled nor inspected by trained or competent personnel, and had not been erected in line with the manufacturer’s instructions or established industry guidance. Despite well‑known risks associated with wind loading on scaffold structures, HSE found that neither the company nor Mr Riaz had taken adequate account of those hazards before deciding to sheet the tower.

Following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Add Prop Limited was found guilty of breaching Regulation 19(2)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £7,000 in costs. Mr Riaz was found guilty of an offence under Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £1,730, with an additional £1,730 in costs.

HSE Inspector Daniel Burton said the incident highlighted the importance of proper scaffold installation and oversight. “The public have a right to expect scaffolding they pass by is safe and has been properly installed – yet every year people are injured when scaffold towers overturn,” he said. “The risks associated with scaffold towers and wind loading are well known within the construction industry – this kind of incident simply should not happen.”

He added that the fines should “underline to everyone in the construction industry that the courts, and HSE, take failures to follow health and safety requirements extremely seriously,” warning that HSE “will not hesitate to take action against companies and, where appropriate, directors who fail to do all that they should to keep workers and members of the public safe.”