A SHERIFF has said a simple Google search may have saved the life of a roofing boss who fell to his death while at work.

Stephen Thomson, a 46-year-old from Cumbernauld, plunged through a gap in a roof he was working on in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, and struck his head on machinery, in September 2012.

A warning about unsafe working practices on the site was made four days before Mr Thomson died. An e-mail was sent to the Health and Safety Executive.

Sheriff Lindsay Wood said: "With better training and greater skills, the Complaints Handler could have used Google or another internet search engine and that may have led to the identification of the duty holder."

he HSE, said the Sheriff, could have done more to investigate and act upon the warning from the member of the public.

A spokeswoman for the HSE said: "HSE will carefully consider the points made by the Sheriff about the death of Stephen Thomson.