FIVE building firms have been ordered to pay almost £150,000 after a worker fell to his death.

David Moran, aged 31, from Manchester, had no demolition or construction qualifications for the cash-in-hand job at Chesford Grange, Woolston, where he was killed in September 2002.

He died after falling eight feet through a fragile roof which he had been instructed to work on.

The firms were fined a total of £87,000 with costs of £57,000 at Manchester Crown Court on Friday - four years after the tragedy.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Nic Rigby, who headed the investigation, said: "This prosecution follows the tragic death of a young man on a site in Warrington.

"Unfortunately, his death is not unique: on average, one person is killed on a construction site in Great Britain every five or six days and many more are seriously injured."

Four companies pleaded guilty while Bernard O'Sullivan, then owner of the site's main contractor Excavation and Contracting (UK) Ltd, was found guilty of failing to ensure non-employees were not exposed to health and safety risks earlier this year.

The dead man's employer, Elmsgold Haulage Ltd, based in Manchester, along with Excavation and Contracting (UK) Ltd, Dennis O'Connor and John McSweeney, were found to made seven health and safety breaches on the site.

l Elmsgold Haulage was fined £10,000 for each charge and ordered to pay total costs of £9,756.

l McSweeney was fined £5,000 for each charge and ordered to pay total costs of £5,000.

l Excavation & Contracting (UK) Ltd was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay £9,972 costs l Bernard O'Sullivan was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £30,000 costs l Dennis O'Connor, site foreman, was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £2,500 costs.

Glyn Hines, site foreman, was cleared after a two-week trial.

Another company, Knight Frank, based in Hanover Square, London, has previously admitted two charges of breaking health and safety regulations.

The company was fined £3,500 for each offence and order to pay £4,580 towards prosecution costs.