The video of Paul Cavanagh has gone viral with more than 22,000 hits, but it might be a case of unwanted fame as Cavanagh has been suspended by his employer in light of the incident.
The demonstration was meant to show how a safety belt would keep Cavanagh attached to the ladder even if he spun around it.
But it appears that the instructor did not attach the belt properly. In the video, the ladder slides along the wall with Cavanagh still attached to it, and he ends up in a heap in the neighbouring garden.
In the footage, Cavanagh seems dazed by the fall, and remains motionless on his back until his colleagues come to help him.
One colleague who helps him get up is heard to say: “You should not have done that – you should have had the side clippers on.”
You might surmise that Cavanagh was not quite concentrating on his demonstration from the fact that another colleague has to toss him a hard hat once the demonstration has already begun, because the instructor has forgotten to put one on.
He fixes the hard hat on his head just moments before the fall.
The Mirror reports that Cavanagh was teaching Morrison Facilities Services staff in Gateshead when the fall happened and that he has now been suspended.
The tabloid said that Chris Morgan of Morrison stated the company was dismayed by “this isolated event”.
“It resulted from an individual deciding not to comply with our stringent health and safety standards,” Morgan added.
“This has led to suspension, pending investigation.”
<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/O-mLXJAf09w” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
