A BUILDER from Verwood has been ordered to pay £12,500 for demolishing a house without carrying out an asbestos survey.

Self-employed Stuart Pearson was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive for not having a pre-demolition survey to check all asbestos had been removed from the building.

Pearson, of Badger Way, had seen a survey for the previous owner that highlighted 12 metres of asbestos in poor condition with two or three areas classified as ‘high risk’.

HSE began investigating when Pearson went ahead and demolished the house in Woking, Surrey, without ensuring it had all been removed.

Pearson pleaded guilty to the breach of Control of Asbestos Regulations and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £7,500 in costs at Guildford Magistrates’ Court.

HSE Inspector Russell Beckett said: “Asbestos is not an historical threat. It is current and it faces tradesmen all the time.

“This man has risked his own health and the health of others who were on the site.”