A South-east roofing boss has been found guilty of manslaughter due to gross negligence after an employee fell 6m to his death through a skylight. The jury found both Colin Cooper and his company IC Roofing guilty of the charge after hearing how 20-year-old Darren Hoofe died while carrying out roofing repairs in Uckfield in 2005. Hove Crown Court heard Mr Hoofe was not wearing a harness, and there was no safety net in place to catch him, when he plunged on to the concrete floor at a unit at the Bellbrook Industrial Estate. He died in hospital the day after the fall. The court was told Mr Cooper, the owner and director of the firm, had failed to carry out the necessary risk assessment procedures for the work. During the 13-day trial, jurors also heard that Mr Hoofe, a trained electrical engineer, was "inexperienced" and had only received limited training during the six months he had been employed by Mr Cooper’s company. Mr Cooper had already pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of an employee under the Health and Safety at Work Act following an investigation by the Sussex Police and the Health and Safety Executive. But during the trial, he told jurors that he always ensured the safety of his men. He said that even though he was not present at the site when Mr Hoofe fell, he was confident that the two other workers with him would have made sure he knew what he was doing. He was found guilty following eight hours of deliberation by the jury.