Church hit with €1,900 bulb bill

HOW much does it cost to change five light bulbs? A whopping €1,900 since the EU ruled you must use scaffolding if the bulb is more than 40 feet above the ground.

The EU directive has left a rural church in England reeling after it received a £1,300 (€1,900) bill to replace a handful of light bulbs because of new health and safety laws.

It used to cost about £200 (€292) and take a couple of hours for someone to clamber up a ladder and change the bulbs at St Benet’s Minster in Beccles, Suffolk.

But since the introduction of the EU’s “working at height” directive in April, the cost - and effort - to get the work done has soared.

Parish priest Father Anthony Sutch said in May he asked a local firm to replace four bulbs 40ft up on the walls and a few wall fittings.

He said he was surprised to discover a full risk assessment would need to be carried out and a scaffolding tower brought in to reach the bulbs, which each cost around 80p (€1.17).

The work was carried out and the church received a bill for £1,300, but Fr Sutch said the bulbs didn’t last long and now four need to be replaced.

He said he was now considering having the lights in the church lowered to get around the problem.

A British Health and Safety Executive spokesman said: “The regulations tackle one of the biggest safety issues in the workplace - falls from height - and help people work at height safely.”