Internet Daredevil Window Cleaner Fined

This daredevil window cleaner is captured on film balancing on a ledge without a safety harness on the third floor of a building in Bath.

Internet star window cleaner who balanced on third floor ledge is fined £2,000 for breaking health and safety rules: A window cleaner who became a YouTube hit when he was filmed balancing on a third-floor ledge with no safety harness has been ordered to pay £2,000 for health and safety breaches. First reported here.

Fearless Wayne Mallon was caught on camera as he calmly climbed out of a top-floor window to carry out his work 40ft above the pavement. Passers-by watched in horror as he stepped onto the outside of a stone balustrade before walking around the building. A later clip showed him doing the same thing on the level below, but this time walking along the top of the narrow windows – again without any kind of safety equipment.

Self-employed Mallon, who works for Terry Mallon and Sons Cleaning Services, pleaded guilty to three health and safety charges at Bath Magistrates Court in Somerset. The 40-year-old was fined £400 for each of the offences and ordered to pay £800 in costs, as well as a £15 victim surcharge, bringing the total to £2,015.

Risky: Footage showed Wayne Mallon balancing precariously on a ledge without a safety harness as he climbed across the building - 40ft up - to clean its windows.

Mallon, of Whiteway, Bath, took to the windowsills above the Loch Fyne restaurant in Bath in September last year. It was filmed by a passing pedestrian and went viral on YouTube, attracting nearly 90,000 views to date. But the clip came to the attention of the health and safety team at Bath and North East Somerset Council, which brought charges against Mallon and Loch Fyne.

The restaurant chain faces six breaches of health and safety regulations, which will be dealt with this Friday. A spokesman from B&NES Council said: “The council, in common with the window cleaning industry, takes these issues seriously because of the dangers to the public and workers.

“Whilst working in this manner, Mr Mallon was putting not only his own safety at risk but also that of members of the public who were passing on the busy pavement below. “The council hopes that the fine and court costs of £2,000 incurred by Mr Mallon will deter businesses from putting themselves, other workers and members of the public at risk.”

He added: “Falls from height remain the most common cause of workplace fatality. “The council wishes to remind all businesses carrying out these activities that they must, for their own and other’s safety, familiarise themselves with legal requirements which in this case would have assured Mr Mallon’s safety.” 

 

Bath hotel fined over unsafe window cleaner: A restaurant and hotel firm has been fined £15,000 after a window cleaner was filmed balancing precariously on a ledge outside one of its buildings. Loch Fyne admitted one breach of health and safety law and was also ordered to pay costs of £3,023. Self-employed window cleaner Wayne Mallon was fined £2,000 on Monday. He was seen climbing along the ledges of the third floor of the Milsoms Hotel building - owned by Loch Fyne - in Bath without ladders or safety equipment. Mallon, of Whiteway, Bath, who works for Terry Mallon and Sons Cleaning Services, pleaded guilty to three health and safety charges at Bath Magistrates' Court

The footage went viral when it was posted on YouTube in September last year and has attracted more than 90,000 views to date. It came to the attention of the health and safety team at Bath and North East Somerset Council (Banes), which brought charges against Mallon and Loch Fyne, which has its roots on the west coast of Scotland. The film was shown to magistrates and Loch Fyne admitted allowing a contractor to work at height in an unsafe manner. 

Robin Wood, representing Banes, told the court that the firm had a duty of care to contractors. "If a suitable risk assessment had been carried out, Mr Mallon would not have endangered himself or others below in the way he did," he said. "There were a number of documents in place to make sure a risk assessment was possible but they were not being used and had not been checked by the company for more than eight years. "We have no evidence that this happened on more than one occasion, except he seemed to know what he was doing."

He added: "The video has been seen by more than 89,000 people on YouTube. It has also appeared in national newspapers and on television. "Window cleaners from around Europe have commented on YouTube. The industry itself is aware of this, and in some ways, they will take note of what has happened in this instance."

Speaking outside court, a Loch Fyne spokesman said the company took health and safety "extremely seriously" and expected the same from its contractors. "We accept today's decision and are grateful this isolated incident in Bath was brought to our attention. "As a result we have put tighter measures in place to prevent anything similar happening again, including stricter procedures for our restaurant manager to follow when using external contractors."

Loch Fyne, which employs 1,234 staff at 42 restaurants and four hotels, said it was the first time it had ever appeared in court. Speaking outside his home, Mallon said he was "very health and safety conscious". He added that only three of the hotel's 28 windows could be reached using "reach and wipe" equipment.