• Director’s family left with ‘mixed emotions’.
• No risk assessment or safe system of work in place at time.
• HSE guidance on safe use of transport is available

A textile manufacturer has been fined £220,000 after one of its directors was killed by a reversing HGV in Rochdale.

Daniel Ames was a director of The British Millerain Company Limited and had offered to stay behind at the company warehouse to wait for the return of the vehicle on 22 June 2023.

The truck arrived at around 5.30pm. Mr Ames spoke to the driver and confirmed he would act as banksman to help the vehicle reverse into the warehouse.

During the manoeuvre, the driver lost sight of Mr Ames and when he got out to check, he found him trapped between the vehicle and some steel storage racks in the warehouse. The driver called paramedics, but Mr Ames died in hospital from his injuries.

Speaking after the company was fined, Mr Ames’ family said the outcome left them with ‘mixed emotions’.

“Daniel went to work and never came home again and we have a massive hole in our lives that will never be filled,” they said in a statement.

“We are glad the company have admitted being responsible for his death and been handed a fine.

“But we remain devastated that we no longer have Daniel in our lives. Today we have still lost a much-loved dad, husband, uncle, son and brother, and we are devastated that his life ended in this way.

“He got on well with all his colleagues at work and had a great career. He was a respected professional who loved his job and was well known in the industry and was excited for his future. But that was taken away from us all in an instant.

“He was a real family man with a great sense of humour who was always making people smile and laugh and he enjoyed life to the full. We all miss him so much.”

The incident was reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who carried out an investigation into what happened. That identified a number of failings exposing employees to various risks, including having no safe system in place for reversing HGVs. Employees confirmed they had been doing the task for several years but had never received any training. This included one employee who said he had on occasion reversed HGVs into the warehouse with someone else acting as banksman – despite neither being trained to do so.

The HSE investigation also found the company had no risk assessment in place in relation to this work, with the regulator serving it with an improvement notice. Following the incident the company carried out a risk assessment that resulted in a safe system of work being implemented, which meant vehicles were no longer reversed using a banksman. Relevant guidance can be found here: Workplace transport – HSE.

The British Millerain Company Limited, of Unit 1 Park Mill, Buckley Road, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to breaching section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £220,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,634 at Manchester Magistrates Court on 10 July 2025.

HSE inspector Jane Carroll said: “This is a tragic case.

“Daniel was clearly popular and respected, but his leadership and dedication to his colleagues was not properly protected by the defendant.

“A safe system of work was not in place.

“We will always take action against those who fail to protect people in work.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and paralegal officer Stephen Grabe.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here Workplace transport – HSE.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• CCTV stills show the scene moments before the incident.
• Company failed to property managed vehicle movements on site.
• HSE guidance is available.

A company in the West Midlands that reclaims and processes textiles has been fined £300,000 after one of its workers was hit by a telehandler.

The man, now 42, suffered serious injuries to his legs in the incident that happened on 23 March 2023 at a factory belonging to JMP Wilcox & Company Limited at Beldtray Works in Bilston.

Stills from CCTV footage captured the scene moments before the 39-year-old man was struck. He had been using a ride-on electric pallet truck inside the factory building. The pallet trucks are used for transporting goods of clothing to sorting lines and other areas around the factory.

The man and his supervisor had been finding stock in the ‘goods-in’ area. He was using his pallet truck to return an empty cage when he was hit by a telescopic handler that was being driven by another employee.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to properly manage vehicle movements on site. This included organising the workplace in such a way as to ensure the safety of its employees, both pedestrians and those using vehicles.

HSE provides guidance – Workplace transport – HSE – about what workplace transport arrangements can be put in place to prevent incidents. These include:

• The importance of risk assessment considering the risks associated with impact from other vehicles in the area such as telescopic handlers, forklift trucks and other trucks such as heavy goods vehicles (HGV) and what separation is required from those vehicles; and
• What separation would be required from other pedestrians and that these controls are implemented.

JMP Wilcox & Co Limited of Beldray Road, Bilston pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and have been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,732 at Dudley Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2025.

HSE inspector Gail Bell said: “This incident highlights the dangers to safety from inadequate management of workplace transport.

“A man suffered very serious injuries due to the failure to put suitable control measures in place.

“These measures ensure people are kept safe at work and specifically prevent them being struck by a moving vehicle.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Andy Siddall and paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here Workplace transport – HSE.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• Traffic light system had broken down several weeks before incident, investigation finds.
• HSE guidance is available on safe use of transport.

A Norfolk-based food wholesaler has been fined £66,000 after an employee’s leg had to be amputated after he was injured while loading a lorry.

The worker was loading an HGV using a pallet truck at Osprey Foods Limited, in Holt, Norfolk on 5 July 2023.

The HGV pulled away while the man was still inside the trailer, causing both him and the pallet truck to fall between the loading dock and the rear of the vehicle. The injuries he sustained were so severe his leg had to be amputated.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Osprey Foods had not taken appropriate measures to control vehicle movements on their site. The traffic light system used to tell the HGV drivers when it was safe to move their vehicles had broken several weeks prior to the incident and had not been repaired. The traffic light remained green during the loading process, meaning that the driver pulled away thinking it was safe to do so and unaware that the man was still in the back of the vehicle.

Osprey Foods Limited, of Holt, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £66,000 and ordered to pay £5,850 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2025.

HSE inspector Natalie Prince said “Every year, a significant number of incidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur as a result of failure to manage vehicles moving around safely.

“In this case, a simple repair to a traffic light system has resulted in a worker suffering life-changing injuries.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Arfaq Nabi and paralegal officer Helen Hugo.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here Workplace transport safety HSG136.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• Development in central Preston was to fit former warehouse with 35 apartments.
• Action taken by both the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) in multi-agency collaboration.

An Altrincham-based construction company has been fined £165,000 after it repeatedly failed to put in place suitable fire precautions during renovation in Preston.

Glovers Court Ltd were found guilty of four offences in relation to the redevelopment of  a former city centre warehouse into 35 apartments spread across six floors. The Glovers Court project was under construction on 16 May 2023 when it was visited by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS). A number of fire safety issues were identified and LFRS prohibited the use of the building, meaning residents already living there had to leave their homes.  As construction work was still ongoing, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and HSE worked in multi-agency collaboration to deal with this premises.

A HSE inspector then visited the site finding the  company  not to be complying with its duty to ensure suitable fire safety precautions were in place during ongoing construction work. Those failures included:

• No fire detection system;
• No means of raising the alarm in case of a fire;
• Inadequate escape plans; and
• Construction work had not been phased to ensure fire compartmentation was maintained throughout the project to prevent fire spreading to all floors.

As a result of the findings, HSE served a prohibition notice against Glovers Court Ltd, stopping all further work on the property until adequate fire precautions were in place.  HSE also served an improvement notice requiring the company to design and implement a fire management plan.

However, during further visits in June and November 2023, HSE found construction work had been ongoing while no action had been taken to comply with either of the notices.

HSE legislation requires a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment to be carried out by a responsible person. HSE guidance says, where necessary in the interests of the health or safety of a person on a construction site, suitable and sufficient fire-fighting equipment and fire detection and alarm systems must be provided and located in suitable places. Further details on this can be found https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/regulation/32/mad and https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg168.pdf.

Glovers Court Ltd, of Kingsway, Altrincham, Cheshire, who have now gone into liquidation, were found guilty of breaching:

• 33(1)(c) HSWA by virtue of breaching Reg 11(1) CDM 2015

Reg 11 (1) CDM The PD must plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase and co-ordinate health and safety matters to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the project is carried out without risks to health and safety.

• 33(1)(c) HSWA by virtue of breaching Reg 13(1) CDM 2015

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, Regulation 13(1).   The failures relating to general and process fire precautions can be identified in the failure to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase to ensure it is carried out without risks and by virtue of Reg 16 (1) &(2) and Part 4 because construction work is being carried out.

• 33(1)(g) HSWA x 2

It is an offence for a person to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an improvement notice or a prohibition notice (including any such notice as modified on appeal).

The company was found guilty in their absence following a trial at Preston Magistrates’ Court on 26 June 2025. They were fined £165,000 and ordered to pay £10,512 in costs.

HSE inspector Christine McGlynn said “This company showed a blatant disregard to both fire safety and the laws in place to protect both people and places.

“Each year there are estimated to be hundreds of fires on construction sites, potentially putting the lives of workers and members of the public at risk.

“Any outbreak of fire threatens the safety of those on site and is costly in terms of its damage and delay. Many can be avoided by careful planning and control of work activities.”

A spokesperson for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service added: “This prosecution highlights the positive outcomes multi agency working has for fire safety in Lancashire.

“It also highlights the critical importance property developers, owners and managers must give to fire safety.

“We welcome the court’s recognition of the seriousness of these breaches and hope this serves as a clear message to all about their legal and moral responsibilities.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Karen Park and Paralegal Rebecca Withell.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

A waste and recycling company has been fined £400,000 after a council worker was crushed at a waste facility in London.

Paul McDaid, an Enfield Council employee, was working at the London Energy Ltd transfer station in Edmonton, London, on 13^th May 2022 when a shovel loader reversed into him. The 58-year-old had been closing the tailgate on his tractor after tipping waste into a nearby bay, when the vehicle reversed without realizing he was there and crushed him between both vehicles. He sustained very serious injuries.

The company was undergoing major construction work and the area where the incident occurred was a temporary unit. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the work was not suitably risk assessed and appropriate control measures were not implemented.

The investigation also found the company had also failed to implement suitable controls to segregate pedestrians and vehicles for which detailed guidance is available. Where vehicles and pedestrians share a traffic route there must be enough separation between them. This can normally be achieved through the use of physical barriers and safe systems of work. Relevant guidance can be found here Workplace transport – HSE.

London Energy Ltd of Ecopark, Advent Way, Edmonton, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay £5,573 in costs at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 27 June 2025.

HSE inspector Pippa Knott said: “Due to the failings of this company a man has been left with very serious injuries.

“They failed to segregate pedestrians and vehicles, putting both employees and council workers at risk.

“Too many workers are injured every year as a result of being struck by moving vehicles which could be avoided by implementing suitable control measures.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and paralegal officer Helen Hugo.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here Workplace transport – HSE.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

A Nottingham builder has avoided an immediate spell behind bars after his failures resulted in a gas explosion leaving a worker with burns so serious, he has been unable to work since.

Barry Newman, the sole trader of Foster Brother Builders, was given a 12-month suspended sentence and told to complete 240 hours of unpaid work.

Mr Newman had contracted a Nottingham man to carry out refurbishment works on a property in Bulwell. As part of those works, Newman, 58, had placed a faulty portable space heater, connected to a propane gas (LPG) cylinder, in the property’s cellar to dry out damp.

However, on 22 November 2022, a gas leak from the heater resulted in a violent explosion – causing the 51-year-old man to suffer severe burn injuries to his hands, legs, face and scalp. Footage taken by a member of the public in the immediate aftermath shows the extent of the damage caused to the property, with explosion debris also being propelled onto the pavement and residential road, putting members of the public at risk.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Newman failed to carry out a risk assessment and provide suitable and adequately maintained equipment for the work being undertaken.

The manufacturer’s instructions for the type of heater used clearly state that it is only for use in well-ventilated areas and that LPG cylinders should not be kept below ground. This is because the gas is heavier than air and will collect at the lower level if there is a leak. HSE guidance states that employers should ensure that work equipment is used only for operations for which, and under conditions for which, it is suitable.  Further guidance can be found here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l22.htm

Barry Newman of The Quay, Beeston Marina, Nottingham pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. At Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 19 June 2025 he was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment, suspended for two years, was ordered to complete 240 hours of unpaid work in the community, and required to pay costs of £2,000.

HSE Inspector Roy Poulter said: “This gas explosion has left one man unable to work due to the seriousness of the injuries sustained and it could have easily resulted in someone losing their life.

“This case should serve as a strong reminder to those in the building trade on the dangers of working with gas and the need to assess the risk, and just how serious both HSE and the courts take failures like this.

“HSE will take action against those who do not do all that they can to keep people safe.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Samantha Wells.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. Relevant guidance on provision and use of work equipment can be found here: Safe use of work equipment. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Approved Code of Practice and guidance – L22
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

• Company’s own procedures on meat cutting were not followed
• Training only provided in English despite multi-national workforce

A Suffolk-based meat producer has been fined £140,000 after one of its workers lost part of his finger while cutting a pig tail.

The man had been working for pork producer C & K Meats Limited at its site in Potash Lane on Mid Suffolk Business Park on 12 April 2022. The Ukrainian national, who was 31 at the time, had been instructed to remove pigs’ tails using hydraulic cutters, which were not designed for the task.

However, he caught his left index finger in the cutting mechanism and severed it. He was taken to hospital where he received further treatment including the removal of more of his finger.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees by providing equipment that was not suitable for the task.

Internal procedures were in place which identified hydraulic cutters were only to be used to remove pigs’ legs and that trained butchers would undertake the removal of pigs’ tails with a knife. However, the company failed to implement them.

Training provided for the process of removing pigs’ tails was also only provided in English, including for migrant workers for whom English may not have been their first language.

Employers have a legal responsibility to provide information, instruction, training and supervision in an understandable format for all workers, irrespective of their national origins, first language, or literacy. You can read more about HSE guidance for the food and drink industry here: Food and drink industry case studies – HSE.

C & K Meats Limited of Oak House Heyford Close, Aldermans Green Industrial Estate, Coventry, England, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay £5,513.47 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Friday 20 June 2025.

HSE inspector Jessica Flint said: “This case identified multiple failures by this company while undertaking the very common task of pork processing.

“Trained butchers on site could have safely removed pigs’ tails using a knife, instead of operatives being instructed to use unsuitable hydraulic cutters.”

“The food industry should protect all its staff. This includes its more vulnerable workers,  by ensuring clearly understandable training, instruction and information is provided, including to non-English speakers, and that only the most suitable equipment is used for its processes.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer, Samantha Crockett and paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences in England can be found here and those for Scotland here.

• Two companies also fined.
• Young roofer was on just his second day on the job.
• Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of workplace death and HSE guidance is available.

A director has been given a suspended jail sentence and two companies fined after a young man on just his second day on the job fell to his death at a premises in Walsall.

Adam Brunskill, 22, had been part of a team of four men working on the roof of Bestway Wholesale in Bloxwich Lane, near Reedswood. On 14 July 2020, he fell through an unprotected glass-wire skylight to the concrete floor approximately 23-feet below. He sustained a severe brain injury and died in hospital the following day.

It had only been Adam’s second day working as a roofer on the project to install over-cladding to the large industrial unit.

Wayne Clarey, the director of Wayne Clarey Roofing & Cladding Limited, was given a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months. His company was fined £45,000, while principal contractor Proclad Developments Limited was fined £400,000.

Working at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injury and death and HSE has detailed guidance on working safely at height.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that this was a very preventable incident.  The skylights could have been covered or safety netting installed below.

• Proclad (Developments) Limited of Snail Hill, Rotherham pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 9 (2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and have been fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,089.
• Wayne Clarey Roofing & Cladding Limited of High Escombe, Bishop Auckland pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 9 (2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and have been fined £45,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,000.
• Director Wayne Clarey of High Escombe, Bishop Auckland pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 9 (2) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

HSE inspector Gareth Langston said: “The collective failures of those responsible for site safety in this case has cost a young man his life.

“Adam Brunskill was at the very beginning of his career but was not kept safe.

“When working on fragile roofing, or where skylights are in place on a metal roof, safety netting is essential.

“Had these measures been put in place Adam would still be alive.”

Further information:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places, and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
4. HSE guidance on working safely at height is available.
5. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect any fines imposed. Relevant sentencing guidelines must be followed unless the court is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.  The sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found here.

A manufacturing company has been fined £15,000 after exposing its own workers to wood dust and failing to comply with two improvement notices.

Wood dust can cause serious and often irreversible health problems, including sino-nasal cancer, asthma and dermatitis. Employers have a legal responsibility to prevent or adequately control exposure in the workplace.

After concerns were raised to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), inspectors from the workplace regulator went to Billy Davidson NV Stables Limited’s premises in Wingate, Durham on 17 June 2022. As a result, notices were served on the firm requiring it to undertake an examination of the local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system fitted to a chop saw and for failing to control exposure to wood dust from the use of a circular table saw.

Proper dust extraction can include having the right machinery, and vacuuming dust instead of sweeping is often required. HSE’s easy-to-follow guidance can be found here.

Despite the action taken by HSE, when inspectors returned to the site on 12 January 2023, the circular saw was still being used, despite the company saying it had been taken out of use. Likewise, the chop saw and LEV was also still being used, and the company had not provided HSE with confirmation it had been examined and was adequately controlling wood dust exposure.

The subsequent HSE investigation found the company had shown a disregard for health and safety due to their failure to comply with the improvement notices.

A HSE campaign to protect workers from exposure to wood dust is ongoing.

Billy Davidson NV Stables Limited was found guilty of contravening two counts of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulations 9(2) and 7(1) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £4,500 in costs at Peterlee Magistrates Court on 24 January 2024.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Clare Maltby said: “This company showed a blatant disregard to the safety of its own workers.

“Companies are responsible for controlling the exposure to wood dust, a substance which is hazardous to health and can cause long term health effects such as occupational asthma.

“Compliance could have been achieved by simply getting a LEV fitted to the circular table saw and getting a competent person to undertake a thorough examination and test of the LEV on the chop saw.

“This case demonstrates that we will not hesitate to prosecute companies who fail to comply with the law.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.

The director of a Norwich woodworking company has avoided an immediate spell behind bars after he exposed his employees to harmful wood dust.

Wood dust can cause serious and often irreversible health problems, including sino-nasal cancer, asthma and dermatitis. Employers have a legal responsibility to prevent or adequately control exposure in the workplace.

John Risby, the director of Turners and Moore Limited, was given a four month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, at Norwich Magistrates Court. The 33-year-old’s company was also fined £40,000.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an inspection at the firm’s Hurricane Way site on November 2017, which identified significant failings in its measures to control exposure of employees to wood dust. Enforcement action was taken, however a subsequent inspection in August 2022 showed the company had failed to maintain standards and further enforcement action was taken.

Dust extraction and vacuuming instead of sweeping can be some of the measures taken to control exposure to workers. Guidance on working in the woodworking industry is available and an inspection-led campaign to protect workers continues.

Turners and Moore Limited of Hurricane Way, Norwich was fined £40,000 after pleading guilty to breaches of Sections 2 (1) and 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company must also pay £2,000 in costs. Director John Risby was given a four month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. He will also pay costs of £1,100 for breaching section 37 of the same Act.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Natalie Prince said: “This outcome should send a strong message out to anyone with a responsibility for protecting workers.

“Exposure to wood dust can cause serious ongoing health problems and businesses must do all that they can to protect their workers.

“This outcome should underline to those in the woodworking industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to protect the health of employees extremely seriously and will not hesitate to take action against companies that fail to do so.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and paralegal officer Sarah Thomas.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise.
2. More information about the legislation referred to in this case is available.
3. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.