Two brothers have been jailed after a building collapsed due to the pair’s ‘badly planned’ refurbishment.

The collapse left three individuals injured, 20 people temporarily homeless and led to the evacuation of nearby properties.  The incident saw the front of the building and the flats on two upper floors cave in.

As a result, the property, formerly Butler’s Balti House of Brook Hill, was demolished.

After admitting to health and safety breaches, Rizwan Hussain, 39, of Rutland Road, Sheffield was given a 12 month jail sentence and ordered to pay just over £80,000 and his brother Naveed Hussain, 33, of Pitsmoor Road, Sheffield was given the same jail sentence and is due to repay £90,000.

When sentencing the pair His Honour Judge Murphy stated: “It was little short of a miracle that more people were not seriously injured or killed.”, adding that the serious incident was caused by the duo’s “arrogance and greed.”

“A statement needs to be made to people undertaking such projects” in relation to the importance of health and safety. The public would be appalled at anything less than a custodial sentence.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the Hussains’ had destabilised the structure of the building as they attempted to lower the floor in the basement along with removing a number of internal walls.

HSE principal construction inspector Dave Redman said: “All three people injured in this avoidable incident were fortunate not to have been killed. One was saved by a table that had fallen across his body and shielded him from falling debris.

“But their narrow escapes owed more to luck than judgement on the part of the defendants, Rizwan and Naveed Hussain. Both acted incompetently in dealing with the project and fell woefully below acceptable standards.”

 “When carrying out major building alterations it is imperative that skilled structural engineers are employed to advise on the temporary supports needed. It is equally important that competent contractors are then used to ensure that those supports are correctly used for the duration of the work,” added Mr Redman.

“The risks associated with this type of project are well-known in the construction industry and they are significant.  Where competent people are not used and inadequate controls are employed there is always a risk of a catastrophic collapse and multiple fatalities.”