MORE than half the building sites in the North-East checked in a safety blitz by inspectors have been condemned and ordered to stop work.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) officials visited 69 building sites over four days last week, and issued 43 with prohibition notices and six with improvement notices.

They found that local construction firms were not dealing with major hazards associated with the building industry, such as the risk of falling from a height, and had inadequate welfare facilities and unsafe transport arrangements.

The blitz was the second in a rolling programme of inspections being carried out across Britain over 12 months, which is already causing serious concern.

Pam Waldron, HSE head of construction operations for Scotland and northern England, who led the operation, said: "As in a blitz in London last month, we found standards on many of the sites to be well below the required standard.

"I personally saw many examples of weak site management and lack of control of subcontractors allowing unsafe working practices.

"I also saw individual workers putting themselves at risk by ignoring site rules and taking shortcuts.

"Inspectors served enforcement notices where there were serious health and safety risks, and half were served to deal with the risks associated with working at height.

"Since falls from height are the cause of nearly half the construction fatalities, it is vital that the industry does more to address the problem."

Mrs Waldron cited examples of builders working without edge protection, near roof openings and on unsafe scaffolding.

She blamed designers' inadequate consideration of health and safety issues, weak site management and pressure to get the job finished.

But she said there were some examples of well-run sites, and urged others to follow their example.

She pledged to continue to take a hard line on those choosing to ignore the advice.

Bill McKay, HSE's principal North-East construction inspector, said: "This blitz has shown that working practices on many sites are totally unacceptable. There are still too many fatalities and serious accidents. Responsible people within the industry must see that safer working practices are adopted."