A horror injury which ended the career of a promising teenage footballer could have been avoided if he had been properly supervised at work.

Former West Ham trainee Lewis Edwards shattered his pelvis, back and collarbone and lost his spleen after falling through a warehouse roof while working for Croydon-based office fitters STP Solutions.

The company was fined £28,500 last week after it admitted breaching health and safety laws by sending the 17-year-old onto the roof unsupervised to clean out the gutters.

But Lewis’s mother Sara said the impact of the incident was still devastating the whole family 16 months on.

She said: “He still bears the physical and mental scars that have had a tragic effect on his life, and the pressures of this have torn our family apart.

“His accident was directly due to the lack of supervision, training and safety management of his employers.

“He should never have been placed in such a vulnerable position and he will now have to carry this with him for the rest of his life.”

City of London magistrates heard the young worker had been a talented footballer during his time at West Ham juniors, and had begun to take coaching qualifications before suffering his horrific injuries.

Health and Safety Executive inspector Clare Hawkes said: “There is no reason why this job could not have been carried out safely if the company had planned and supervised it properly.

“The horrendous injuries suffered by this young man could have been avoided if the safety risks had been managed and a safe method of work put in place.

“Young, inexperienced workers cannot be expected to be aware of risks or have knowledge of safety controls.

“It’s the employer’s responsibility to put in place measures to ensure their employees’ safety at work.”

“The dangers of working at height are well known and there’s a wealth of free guidance available on how to work safely at height.”

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety etc.Act, Regulation 3(1) (a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, and Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations.

It was also ordered to pay costs of £9,359.