The dangers of working at height have been highlighted to public liability insurance holders after a water services company and its subcontractor were prosecuted.
Anglian Water Services of Cambridgeshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £4,000 with costs of £3,621.
It was also fined a further £12,000 with costs of £6,286 after it admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the same act in relation to a separate issue.
Furthermore, subcontractor IETG of Leeds admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1977 and was fined £1,500 with costs of £3,219.
Ely Magistrates Court heard how technician Matthew Morgan, working on behalf of IETG for Anglian Water Services, fell through an unmarked roof light while taking a reading from a rain gauge on top of a pumping station near Cambridge.
He suffered a fractured vertebra, cuts and bruising and has had ongoing back pain since the incident in August 2007.
Earlier this month, Robert Mackie, from Turriff, was prosecuted after one of his employees broke his leg when he fell three metres from the roof of a farm building.