And he said that the Health and Safety Executive is still considering bringing a prosecution in the wake of the death after an "endless catalogue" of similar tragedies. Hull coroner Geoffrey Saul yesterday resumed an inquest into the death of Alan Gordon, 45, of Thrunscoe Road, Cleethorpes, who died last August.
The jury heard how the roofer with more than 20 years of experience and who had never had a work-related accident died of severe injuries after falling 30 feet to a concrete floor at Coincheck Electronics Ltd in Beverley.
Mr Gordon had worked on the roof several times over the years and on the day he died had been called with workmate Thomas Ireland to examine the leaking roof.
After being shown where water was accumulating, Mr Gordon and Mr Ireland climbed onto the roof. The building had two peaked roofs with a "gutter or walkway" through the centre. Much of the original panelled roofing had been replaced in recent years, but a section at the front of one of the buildings had not been over-clad with metal.
Mr Gordon and Mr Ireland began walking down the gutter, with Mr Gordon checking the roof on the left for the source of the leak, and Mr Ireland checking the right.
Mr Ireland said he was less than two metres away from his friend when he heard an "almighty crash. He turned round to see Mr Gordon disappearing through the roof.
He said: "I just heard the noise and as I spun around I saw him dropping through. I ran over to where he had vanished and looked in, hoping I'd find him stuck in there or hanging just below the hole, but he was on the concrete, on his side, far below."
Staff at the factory shop told the inquest of the horrifying moment that Mr Gordon fell through the roof, cracking his head on a wooden pallet before hitting the concrete.
Ian Whitaker, a team leader at Coincheck, said: "I was standing talking to a couple of colleagues when I heard the crash. I knew the lads were up on the roof as I had just showed them where the leaks were from the inside. As soon as I heard the crash I looked up and he literally came through the roof. He was about 15 feet from me. We ran over and he was breathing and in a safe position and just stayed with him until the ambulance arrived."
Rob Bowell, an HSE inspector used a model of the building to show the jury which parts of the roof had been reclad in recent years.
He said: "Sadly I've been doing this job for 35 years and our log books have been full of up to 20 cases a year of fatal accidents caused by these sort of roofs, throughout my time. There have been a whole catalogue of events where these roofs of asbestos and sheeting panels have simply shattered into a million pieces.
"They can literally shatter to the touch after a few years. When they are over-clad with new metal sheets they can take the weight, but panels a good few years old can just give way.
"The danger of these roofs is considerable and we have spent a lot of energy and time alerting the industry to the dangers. We have produced booklets and documents detailing how to work there safely."
Mr Bowell revealed that the panels that shattered were on the old roof, above the gutter. He said that although Mr Gordon had worked on the roof before and it was obvious which parts were over-clad, "nobody would ever know" why he was on the part of the roof where the panels shattered.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
Mr Saul warned of the fragility of old, brittle roofs.
Dave.Mark@ypn.co.uk