Car wash firm fined for failing to protect workers and the public
A car wash firm in Devon has been fined £40,000 after it repeatedly failed to protect workers and members of the public from electrical safety risks. Investigators from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out multiple visits to Best Car Wash Ltd in Tavistock between July 2021 and November 2022. They found employees were […]
Openreach fined following death of engineer
Openreach Limited has been fined £1.34 million after an engineer died whilst trying to repair a telephone line. Alun Owen, from Bethesda, died after he slipped and fell into the River Aber in Abergwyngregyn and was swept away on 6 October 2020. The 32-year-old has been described by his family as a ‘loving and selfless […]
Tata Chemicals fined following young father’s death
Tata Chemicals Europe Limited has been fined after a young father died following an incident while erecting a scaffold tower in a chemical plant in Northwich. Michael Densmore, from Halewood in Merseyside, died following complications to the wound he sustained after his right foot slipped into a trough containing a liquid chemical calcium hydroxide – […]
Construction company fined following death of HGV driver
A Nottinghamshire-based engineering and groundworks contractor has been fined £233,000 for safety breaches after a 52-year old HGV driver was struck and killed by the mast of a piling rig at a house build site in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway. On 21 January 2021, Gary Dobinson, who was employed by another company, visited the Hallmeadow […]
Reminder for farmers to keep visitors safe this summer
Britain’s workplace regulator, is calling on farmers to do all they can to make sure those visiting their farms are kept safe and healthy. It is the time of year when some farmers consider hosting “open farm” events, perhaps as part of Open Farm Sunday, happening on Sunday 9 June 2024. Open farm events allow […]
Skip hire and waste recycling company fined after worker is injured
A family run and owned skip hire, waste and recycling business in Scotland has been fined £24,000 after a worker sustained serious injuries to his left hand and forearm on the blades of a machine. Barry Edward Pae, formerly known as Barry Edward Vaughan, an employee of W M Russell & Sons Limited was injured […]
Company director given suspended sentence after worker crushed to death
A company director has been given a suspended prison sentence after an employee lost his life at a site in St Helens. Roger Gibbons, the director of RM Gibbons Ltd, was given a 16 weeks custodial sentence, which was suspended for 12 months. His company was also fined £40,000 following the death of Uldis Sankans, […]
Site manager issued suspended sentence after death of young father
The site manager of a waste and recycling company has been given a suspended prison sentence following the death of a young father at a site in Dewsbury. Wayne Griffiths, who was also a former director of Arthur Brook Limited, was given a ten-month custodial sentence, which was suspended for 18 months. It followed the […]
Recycling company fined after workers exposed to wood dust
The long-term health of workers at a wood waste recycling centre was put in danger due to excessive exposure to the dust their work created, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution has found. Esken Renewables Limited, a waste and recycling company that specialises in generating biofuel from renewable waste, ran a wood waste recycling […]
HSE’s Building Safety conference calls for industry to step up and commit to change
The Health and Safety Executive’s second building safety conference saw over 1,300 delegates sharing knowledge and collaborating on solutions to create a safer built environment for everyone Translating the new regulatory framework into actionable steps, ensuring the safety of both existing and future buildings Calls on industry to commit to building a culture of safety […]
Farmer given suspended jail sentence after man killed by cattle
A West Yorkshire farmer has avoided an immediate spell behind bars after his cattle trampled a man to death and left his wife paralysed. Martin Howard Mitchell was given a six-month custodial sentence, which was suspended for 12 months following the incident on a farm in Netherton, Wakefield. Michael Holmes, 57, had been walking on […]
Waste company director sentenced over failure to comply with HSE notices
A director of a Kent waste company has been disqualified from being a director for five years for his role in its failure to comply with two Improvement Notices served by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). David Richard Barker, director of BSP (Knockholt) Limited, was also sentenced to two 12-month community sentences, to run […]
Trailer company fined after employee suffers life-changing injuries
A trailer company has been fined £30,000 after an employee fell from height, suffering a fractured pelvis and head injury. Adrian Baker, from Peterborough, had been cleaning rubbish at N B Sanders (Trailers) Limited’s site in Peterborough when he fell approximately eight feet on 15 October 2021. The rubbish had spilled out of a lorry […]
Farming partnership sentenced as dad crushed by hay bales
A farming partnership in Surrey has been fined £36,000 after a young father was seriously injured. Christopher Rolfe from Horsham in West Sussex, sustained four rib fractures when five hay bales, each weighing 600kg, toppled and fell on top of him at Polesden Lacey Farm on 28 April 2022. Just 26 at the time, Christopher […]
M&S on board for the latest HSE podcast on asbestos
Britain’s workplace regulator has just launched a new podcast outlining the duty to manage asbestos in buildings. In this episode, experts from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discuss the legal obligation to manage asbestos in buildings, highlight where it is likely to be found and explain why it is dangerous. Former BBC radio journalist […]
Mental Health Awareness Week: New HSE campaign partners in construction and entertainment
To mark mental health awareness week, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) welcomes new partners from the construction and entertainment sectors to join its Working Minds campaign. Running a business in construction can be stressful with long hours and juggling intense workloads. Meanwhile, the entertainment and leisure sector is a fast-paced and ever-changing industry, with […]
Waste management company fined after worker suffers burns to body and face
A worker suffered burns to his face and body after the crowbar he was using came into contact with a live electrical conductor. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted a waste management company following the incident on 14 July 2021. The man was moving heavy duty electrical cables with a metal crowbar on a […]
Companies fined as worker injured at Pirelli factory
Three companies have been fined after a lift truck engineer was seriously injured while working at Pirelli Tyres’ factory in Carlisle. Ivan Weightman sustained fractures to his back and leg when two heavy metal skips fell on top of him, trapping the 47-year-old against the ground on 14 November 2019. Pirelli, International Rubber and Tyre […]
Company fined as worker falls through roof and fractures back
A company in Manchester has been fined £20,000 after an employee fell through a roof and suffered serious injuries. The 24-year-old, employed by Hightech Roofing N/W Limited, was repairing a roof on a building in Blackburn when they fell approximately 4.8 metres through a roof light on 3 August 2022. The employee suffered a broken […]
Double glazing company boss avoids jail after worker dies
The director of a Croydon-based double glazing company has avoided an immediate spell behind bars following the death a man described as “an anchor” by his devastated wife. Ayman Noor was given a suspended prison sentence and his company – My Best Group Limited – was fined, following the death of 40-year-old Kashif Rehman on […]