A PRIMARY school in West Yorkshire has been fined £4,000 after a member of staff broke their back after falling through a fragile ceiling.

The teaching assistant had entered the loft space at the school but as they did they went through fragile ceiling, falling four metres to the ground.

At a hearing at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, March 1, Todmorden CofE Junior, Infants and Nursery School admitted a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The incident occurred on September 18, 2019, when while searching for a spare desk in the loft space fell due to the area only being partially boarded, with the ceiling giving way.

She was in hospital for three weeks following the incident and is still in recovery more than two years later and awaiting further operations.

Charges against the school were brought by the Health and Safety Executive under the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

The school was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of £181 and £747.80 costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Charlotte Bligh said: “The school failed to take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent events like this.

“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply carrying out correct control measures and safe working practices."