A builder has been given a suspended prison sentence after a roof collapse destroyed an occupied home and injured three workers in Windsor.
Jack Savva, 70, was given a 13-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, following the incident on 6 August 2020.
Savva was carrying out a loft conversion on the property in Springfield Road when the gable wall fell into the building after the roof was removed.
Two days before the collapse, Savva told the homeowner about work that was required on the chimney breast. He told them it was incomplete as it had previously been removed from the first-floor bathroom and would need to be propped.
However, on the day itself, he instructed his workers to remove key supporting timbers and steels. This resulted in the collapse of the brick gable wall, striking the workers and destroying the first floor of the home, which was occupied at the time.
The homeowner was left to foot a £200,000 bill to rebuild their home because Savva’s public liability insurance was invalid.
‘Still suffer from nightmares’
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Savva had failed to ensure the structure did not collapse while it was in a state of temporary weakness.
He also failed to take all practicable steps to prevent danger to any person while the building was in a temporary state of weakness.
One of the injured workers said: “I still suffer from nightmares of the day of the accident. I haven’t slept more than two hours a night over the last four years.”
Jack Savva, of Friary Road, Wraysbury, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 19(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
In addition to the custodial sentence, he was ordered to pay £2,000 compensation to the homeowner at a hearing before Reading Crown Court on 17 September 2025.
HSE inspector Dominic Goacher said: “Although three men were seriously injured, it was lucky nobody was killed. In addition, the householder faced a bill of £200,000 to rebuild their house due to Jack Savva’s public liability insurance being invalid.
“This was a completely avoidable incident had he acted on his findings regarding the unsupported chimney breast and taken steps to support the gable wall before removing the roof components.”
