A motorist in Blaenau Gwent was treated by paramedics earlier this week after some ladders came loose from a van and struck their car.

A recent case reported by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has highlighted the very real dangers of improper ladder use.

Back in December 2023, a labourer in the West Midlands suffered serious injuries after falling from a ladder that had been placed across a stairwell opening. Following an HSE investigation, the Staffordshire-based construction firm that appointed the worker has been fined £16,000 (plus £4,000 in costs). On top of this, the company's director – who was working nearby when the incident occurred – has been fined £2,000 (plus £1,386 in costs).

A recent news report highlights the danger of using cheap, poorly-made telescopic ladders.

Photo credit: Mark Hunter (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

According to this Metro article, an electrician suffered broken ribs after falling around 15 feet onto a concrete floor when his telescopic ladder reportedly snapped in half. The ladder had been purchased online via Amazon.

Incidents like this are a serious reminder that when you're working at height, the quality of your ladder really matters.

Using a ladder to work on a roof can be incredibly dangerous without the right equipment. In fact, around 48,000 Brits take a trip to A&E every year as a result of a ladder accident in and around the home. Worse still, the number of ladder-related fatalities also makes for seriously grim reading.

So, whether you’re repairing tiles or cleaning gutters, a roof ladder is an essential tool for safety and stability and knowing how to use one correctly can significantly reduce the risk of potentially life altering accidents.

If you’ve got a DIY task to get done and only a short space of time, it’s understandable that you may not want to deal with the hassle of bringing out a ladder, especially if the job will only take you 5 minutes! Luckily, for many short DIY tasks, you can use a hop-up step instead of a full ladder to get that little bit of extra reach. But how do you know when a hop-up is suitable for your task and when you should get a ladder out? This blog will explain!