A reckless company has been fined £100,000 for safety breaches after a worker was filmed standing precariously on a pallet raised in the air by a forklift truck.

The shocking footage – filmed by a member of the public – shows the employee and a colleague using the wooden crate to fashion a makeshift platform at the side of a boat in Ramsgate Harbour.

Scaffolding had been removed so the pair dangerously established a method to remove a motorised pressure washer from the deck of the vessel.

One of the workers was filmed clambering beneath the guard rail and dragging the heavy machine onto the crate, which was then lowered to the ground on the forks of the construction vehicle.

The pair were employees of marine contractor European Active Projects (EAP), which helps repair Royal Navy warships and vessels.

Video of the incident was passed to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought a prosecution against EAP for breaching working at height regulations.

An HSE investigation found the company had failed to plan the work associated with the refurbishments and repair work being carried out on the boat in July last year.

This left workers at risk, with no safe method for removing equipment located on the vessel’s deck.

EAP representatives appeared before Maidstone Magistrates’ Court today, where a judge said there was a lack of supervision and a fall could have resulted in death.

This left workers at risk, with no safe method of removing equipment located on the vessel’s deck.

EAP, which is based at Chatham Docks, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, in October last year.

The company was today fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £5,730 in costs by District Judge Stephen Leake.

The firm was given 90 days to pay the fine and costs in full.

Judge Leake said the company’s turnover was £18 million last year, with a profit of some £60,000.

He said the offending behaviour on July 8 was “unnecessary”, adding: “They should have used harnesses or another way to remove it was to winch it to the dockside.

"There was a lack of supervision for the two workers and that was a risk, that's why there are regulations, if there had been a fall from height, it could have resulted in death.

"An employer has to ensure employees have the right equipment and training and there was a lack of supervision, but I understand steps have been taken to reduce this happening again.

"The offence was a serious one."

HSE inspector Samuel Brown said: “This incident demonstrates why there is a need to appropriately plan and supervise work at height.

“Falls from height are still the biggest cause of fatal accidents involving workers.

“The risk of workers falling from the pallet and sustaining serious, possibly fatal, injuries should not be ignored. Fortunately, no workers were harmed and the reporting of the incident by a concerned member of public enabled HSE to intervene and prevent any further unsafe work at height on site.”

It is not the first time EAP has found itself before the courts.

In 2015 the company was fined £15,000 after workers were spotted walking on stacked shipping containers at Chatham Docks

Photos taken by a member of the public showed a man working on a container some nine metres from the ground at one end, but directly above the water at the other.