Contacts

HSE inspector Peter Lennon, a member of the investigation team that investigated the incident, has reflected on the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster in a blog On the evening of 5 February 2004 over 30 young men and women were trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay as they harvested cockles – 23 tragically lost their […]

A company involved in fruit and vegetable production has been fined £320,000 after a man “who always put family first” was killed at a site in Burscough. Francis Schlachter, known as Frank, suffered severe head injuries when he fell from a skip at a farm operated by M.A.Forshaw Limited on 3 January 2020. The 64-year-old […]

A Stockport-based stone worktop manufacturer has been fined £26,000 for repeatedly putting its workers at risk. Granite & Marble Shop Ltd failed to implement safe working practices despite warnings from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The  company consistently put their employees at risk from serious injury by failing to adequately guard dangerous machinery at […]

A textiles company has been fined £60,000 after a man broke his arm when it was dragged into machinery at a site near Chorley. The employee, a man from Blackrod in Greater Manchester, suffered serious injuries to his right arm in the incident at the factory operated by Pin Croft Dyeing and Printing Co. Limited […]

A recycling company has been fined £2.15million after an agency worker was killed by a loading shovel at its site in Hartlepool. Dean Atkinson lost his life when he was struck and run over by the vehicle at Ward Recycling Limited’s premises on Windermere Road, Longhill Industrial Estate in January 2020. Health and Safety Executive […]

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 […]

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, […]

A North Yorkshire construction company has been fined after a worker was struck on the head and killed by a 16-ton excavator. On 13 January 2021, Dean Myers, an employee of HACS Construction Ltd, was undertaking groundwork activities in a partially excavated trench at a site in Ripon, North Yorkshire. During the works, the 56-year-old […]

These were the inadequate welfare facilities at a Sheffield motor repair shop that was sentenced for breaching health and safety regulations. The pictures have been released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the workplace regulator prosecuted Brightside Motors Ltd for failing to comply with its enforcement action. HSE inspector Kirstie Durrans said the […]

A construction company and a roofing contractor have been fined after a roofer suffered multiple fractures in a fall from a building roof. Horizon Roofing Specialist Ltd had been appointed by principal contractor – Bromley-based Property Facilities Group Ltd – to originally undertake the installation of a new roof at Aspire Academy in Welling. Following […]

A company in Peterborough has been fined £67,000 after a young employee lost his life. George Setchfield was found unconscious over the side of a large container while working for Electrostatic Magic Limited at the firm’s site in Peterborough. George’s mum says his passing has affected “every aspect” of her life. The 21-year-old had entered […]

A company director has been fined £5,000 after he falsified asbestos removal documents while his firm worked on a block of flats in Brighton. Reliable Insulations and Fibre Control Ltd had been hired to remove asbestos at Abbotts Apartments, on King Street, when the company’s director, James Pett, created a fraudulent document claiming a 4-Stage […]

A West Yorkshire cosmetic manufacturing company has been fined after a worker lost part of a finger while cleaning a machine. On 8 October 2021, the man was working on a tube filling machine at Orean Personal Care Limited at its base in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire. He was supervising five members of staff who were […]

New online quiz launched to help plug knowledge gaps Back in September last year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced it was carrying out inspections. Since then more than half of those checks have identified failings. This is a highly technical, specialist field applying precision engineering – but it can also cause harm to the […]

A Hartlepool man has been handed a community order after he admitted removing asbestos from a school when he wasn’t licenced to do so. Sean Thomas Faulkner, 55, also intentionally falsified clearance paperwork after removing asbestos containing materials from Our Lady Lourdes School in Shotton Collery in March 2021. He carried out similar work several […]

A Kent scaffolding company has been fined and its director given a suspended prison sentence after a scaffolder suffered an 11,000-volt electric shock. Steven Gilmore, 36, was working for contractor Canterbury City Scaffolding Ltd alongside a small team of scaffolders, to erect a temporary roof scaffold at an open-air drinks depot in Snow Hill, Crawley, […]

The dangerous material was banned from construction 25 years ago Asbestos may still be present in buildings built before 2000 New HSE campaign emphasises legal duties to manage asbestos Buildings that people use in their daily lives, such as workplaces, schools and hospitals are the focus of a new campaign to keep people safe from […]

A company in York has been fined more than £16,000 after staff at a hospital were left with life-changing medical conditions after being exposed to ionised hydrogen peroxide. Workers at Bio Decontamination Limited attended Scarborough Hospital on 18 September 2019 after being hired to carry out the decontamination of the Aspen ward. The company used […]

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £480,000 after an employee suffered a brain injury after he was found unconscious in a manhole. The man had been unblocking a drain at the hospital on 1 February 2022 when he was discovered by other members of staff. He was rescued from the manhole by […]

A garden landscaper has been handed a suspended prison sentence after a worker was killed when a moving circular saw kicked back into his groin. The labourer, who had been working for Watford-based gardener Mr Fernando Araujo for just two days, was killed in the incident at a house on Harewood, Rickmansworth, on 11 August […]