Two brothers have been sentenced for failing to protect members of the public from their cattle.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Andrew and David Turnbull failed to offer and display signs of an alternative route to a public right of way in their field in the Coalsgarth Valley, North Yorkshire.

HSE prosecuted the pair following the death of former teacher David Clark, who was killed by a herd of cows while crossing the right of way on 21 September 2020.

The 59-year-old had been running with his two dogs when he was surrounded by a numbers of cows, and then struck to the ground.

Witnesses reported that one of the cows then turned back and ran towards Mr Clark, causing a fatal blow to his chest.

The father-of-three was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

HSE guidance suggests a number of reasonably practicable ways that farmers, landowners and other livestock keepers should follow to control the hazards for walkers when keeping cattle in fields where the public have access.

These all start through properly assessing the risks posed by cattle to users of public footpaths and implementing suitable protective and preventative measures to minimise those risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Further guidance can be found here.

Members of the public can find out about steps to safely enjoy the countryside and respect farming activities by following Government advice in The Countryside Code – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Advice includes:

• Give livestock plenty of space. Their behaviour can be unpredictable, especially when they are with their young.
• Keep your dog under effective control to make sure it stays away from livestock. It is good practice wherever you are to keep your dog on a lead around livestock.
• Let your dog off the lead if you feel threatened by livestock. Releasing your dog will make it easier for you both to reach safety.

David and Andrew Turnbull, both of Low Gingerfield Farm, Richmond, North Yorkshire, both pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

At Teesside Crown Court on 3 March 2025:

• Andrew Turnbull, 57, was fined £1,589 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.
• David Turnbull, 61, was fined £1,390 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.

HSE inspector Elliot Archer said: “Andrew and David Turnbull failed to do all that was reasonably practicable to prevent members of the public being put at risk by their cattle. Farmers, landowners and other livestock keepers need to be aware of the risk their cattle pose to members of the public and take suitable protective and preventative measures to mitigate that risk.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Withell.

Notes to editors:                            

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 and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.

A renovation company in South Wales has been sentenced after defying enforcement notices from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Inspectors say Greenlife Property Developments Ltd failed to heed their warnings about the dangers posed to workers by a two-and-a-half metre deep excavation of the entire back garden of a house in Pit Place, Cwmbach, Aberdare.

The HSE inspection of the refurbishment works in September 2023 followed up on reports of unsafe construction work. It found that:

• Employees were observed working within the excavation, which was approximately 2.5 metres deep.
• The sides of the excavation were vertical, leaving a risk of rubble subsiding or collapsing without warning.
• The site had not been secured to prevent unauthorised access.
• There was no risk assessment for the refurbishment works and no safe system of work.
• Craig Lewis, managing director at Greenlife Property Developments Ltd, was present on site at the time.

Following the inspection HSE served Greenlife Property Developments Ltd with a Prohibition Notice, requiring the firm to stop construction work within the excavation until it had corrected defects under a safe system of work. There was an immediate risk of serious injury to employees, working inside the excavation, including of burial from falling rubble.

Two Improvement Notices were also served, one requiring the company to secure the site, preventing unauthorised access, while the other ordered the firm to obtain advice on the risks to workers inside the excavation and implement a safe system of work.

A subsequent HSE investigation found Greenlife Property Developments Ltd breached the Prohibition Notice by continuing construction work inside the excavation. The company also failed to comply with one of the Improvement Notices as it did not obtain advice on the risks to workers inside the excavation and implement a safe system of work. Mr Lewis ignored repeated attempts by HSE to contact him in relation to the notices served and the conditions on site, and attempted to deceive HSE by providing false information in relation to the actions taking by the company to comply with the notices.

HSE guidance states that excavation work must be properly planned and carried out to prevent accidents. Precautions should be taken, including against collapse of the sides, materials falling onto people working in the excavation, and undermining nearby structures. Further guidance can be found here.

Greenlife Property Developments Ltd, of Gurnos Estate, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, Gwent, Wales, was found guilty of breaching Section 33(1)(c) and two breaches of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £5,812.57 in costs at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court on 20 January 2025.

HSE inspector Rachael Newman said: “Every year people are killed or seriously injured by collapsing and falling materials while working in excavations.

“Workers are not standing on solid ground when they are inside an excavation. There is almost no excavated ground that can be relied upon. One cubic metre of soil collapsing into an unsupported excavation can collapse without warning and weigh as much as one tonne.”

“Greenlife Property Developments Ltd failed to heed the warnings we evidently gave in our enforcement notices. They made no attempt to prevent the excavation from collapse. The company  failed to comply with two enforcement notices which were served to remove the risk and secure compliance with the law.

“The attempts to evade us were a deliberate breach and flagrant disregard of the law.

“The fine imposed on Greenlife Property Developments Ltd should highlight to everyone in the construction industry that the courts, and HSE, take a failure to comply with the law and enforcement notices extremely seriously. We will not hesitate to take action against companies which don’t  do all they should to keep people safe.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Matthew Reynolds and supported by HSE paralegal officer Jason Dix.

Notes to editors:

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 and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.

• Albie Speakman, 3, died in July 2022 after being struck by a telehandler driven by his father.
• Neil Speakman was sentenced on Friday for failing to ensure Albie’s health and safety.
• Mr Speakman should have followed HSE guidance, says lead inspector.

A farmer has been jailed after he failed to ensure the health and safety of his three-year-old son.

Albie Speakman lost his life on 16 July 2022 after he was run over by a telehandler that was being driven by his father Neil Speakman.

A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Greater Manchester Police found Mr Speakman failed to ensure Albie was kept safe from work activities on his family’s farm in Bury, Greater Manchester. The telehandler being driven by Mr Speakman was in poor condition.

Children should be kept safe from farming work activities by keeping them in a safe area, such as a farmhouse or a securely fenced play area. Further advice can be found here.

Mr Speakman, 39, was using the telehandler to move woodchip into bags while Albie was left playing in a small unfenced garden at the front of the house on Bentley Hall Farm.

The three-year-old wandered onto the farm yard and was fatally struck by the telehandler as it was being reversed.

HSE inspector Mike Lisle said: “This tragedy could easily have been avoided if our guidance was followed.

“Our guidance clearly states children should be kept away from farming activities and work traffic, remaining in a safe space, such as a securely fenced play area.

“Farms are workplaces, but often have a farm house within the grounds. This makes the provision of safe areas for children even more important.”

The HSE and Greater Manchester Police investigation identified that Mr Speakman failed to ensure there was a safe segregated area for Albie to play in so that he was kept safe from farm workplace activity. Instead, Albie was allowed to move around the farm yard while vehicles were being driven.

The investigation found Mr Speakman had borrowed the telehandler from a neighbour, and while he had previously used the vehicle, he was not appropriately trained and had not properly considered the risks involved with using it. The telehandler was missing a wing mirror on the passenger’s side, while the wing mirror on the driver’s side was dirty – reducing Mr Speakman’s visibility as he operated the vehicle.

Neil Speakman, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 after being charged by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

He was handed a 12-month prison sentence and ordered to pay £2,000 in costs at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on 28 February 2025. Mr Speakman must serve at least six months in prison.

Following a trial at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Mr Speakman was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter in February 2025. This charge was brought by the CPS following a Greater Manchester Police investigation.

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 and Wales can be found here and for those in Scotland here.

An indoor skiing company in Tamworth has been fined £100,000 following the death of a schoolboy.

Twelve-year-old Louis Watkiss had been at a tobogganing birthday party at the Snowdome in Tamworth on 24 September 2021.  He was descending the main ski slope on a toboggan when it slid into the back of a member of staff who was conducting a slope walk. He fell backwards onto Louis who sadly died at the scene from head injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Snowdome Limited failed to ensure the safety of its customers, including Louis, while they were undertaking tobogganing at the venue.

The HSE investigation also found that Snowdome Limited did not have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for tobogganing activities and had not fully considered all persons likely to be on the slope during tobogganing. As a result, there was no safe system of work, information, instruction, training or supervision to manage the risk of collisions between toboggans and pedestrians.

Nathan Cook, senior enforcement lawyer for HSE said: “Louis went to a friend’s birthday party at the Snowdome and should have returned home safely to his family after an enjoyable occasion.

“Tragically, due to the failings of Snowdome Limited, this did not happen. Louis’s death could have been prevented if the company had adequately assessed and controlled the risks associated with tobogganing activities.

“This should act as a reminder  that venues and employers must ensure suitable and sufficient risk assessments are in place and employees are provided with sufficient safe systems of work, information, instructions, training, and supervision.

• Employers are required by law to protect both their employees and others from harm and assessing the risk is just one part of the overall process and HSE guidance is available to explain what steps should be taken.

Nathan Cook continued: “Our risk assessment guidance may be more commonly used for workplaces such as factories and construction sites, but the same principles apply for busy venues like indoor ski slopes. The possible risks to people from equipment and the movement of visitors and staff needs to be thought through.

“Our thoughts remain with Louis’ family.”

Snowdome Limited, of Leisure Island, River Drive, Tamworth, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty at Telford Magistrates’ Court to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (‘the Act’). At a hearing on 26 February, they were fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,534.

The HSE investigation into this incident was carried out by HM inspector Keeley Eves, with the support of visiting officer Natalka Heath.

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.
5. HSE guidance about managing and assessing risks is available.

CCTV has captured the moment a welder was crushed while working at a shipyard in Sunderland.

David Vinsome sustained multiple rib fractures as well as internal injuries, including an abdominal wall burst, following the incident at Pallion Shipyard on 18 October 2022.

The 37-year-old from North Shields was crushed between an excavation bucket and a fabrication table. Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Midland Steel Traders Ltd has been fined £100,000.

At the time of the incident, welders had been using an overhead gantry crane and a fork lift truck in tandem to rotate a large excavator bucket. David Vinsome was crushed as he attempted to attach the chains from the overhead crane to the bucket, and a fork lift truck started the lifting operation, unaware of his position behind it.

In a victim personal statement, the father-of-one, recalls how he spent nine days in hospital, before returning home.

“When I did come home, I was in bed for about a month before I tried to get down the stairs,” he said.

“My partner is a NHS nurse, so she helped a lot.

“I am still suffering a lot of pain with my shoulder. I have a daughter and I cannot do the school run anymore or take her out for meals or ice cream.

“I am worried about getting back to work. I don’t know when that will be or how I will manage.

“I don’t think I will go back to welding.”

The investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Midland Steel Traders Ltd had failed to ensure that the lifting activity was properly planned by a competent person, or carried out in a safe manner. They also failed to establish a safe system of work for this activity – leading to a breakdown of communication between the multiple operators involved.

HSE inspector Matthew Dundas said: “Lifting operations can often put people at great risk, as well as incurring great costs when they go wrong.

“It is therefore important to properly resource, plan and organise lifting operations so they are carried out in a safe manner.

“Had that been done in this case then Mr Vinsome wouldn’t have been so seriously injured.

“HSE provides detailed guidance on lifting operations including the importance on how they should be properly resourced, planned and organised, to enable them to be carried out in a safe manner.”

Midland Steel Traders Ltd, Portobello Ind Est, Shadon Way, Chester le Street, pleaded guilty to breaching the Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £100,000 and told to pay £4,916 costs at Newcastle Magistrates Court on 13 February 2025.

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Jonathan Bambro and supported by 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 can be found here.
5. HSE guidance on lifting operations including the importance on how they should be properly resourced, planned and organised, to enable them to be carried out in a safe manner, is available.

A multi-national company that manufactures wood-based products has been fined more than £1 million after two workers were injured in separate incidents.

West Fraser (Europe) Ltd, formerly known as Norbord pleaded guilty to several health and safety breaches related to two incidents that took place at its plant in Cowie within six months of each other in 2020.

In the first  Sean Gallagher, 29, a utility operator, suffered serious injuries after his leg became entangled in moving parts at the bottom of a storage bunker in January 2020.

In July of the same year, David McMillan, 39, a scaffolder, plunged more than 13 feet to the ground after a rusty plate gave way on a rooftop gantry.

Both incidents led to investigations by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The same company had  been fined more than £2million in 2022 after another employee died after suffering serious burns at the same plant.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard that Mr Gallagher had been employed by the firm for a period of five years, spending the last two of which working at its biomass plant. On 20 January, he noticed a fault on a bunker at the plant.  He initially entered the bunker to carry out an inspection, and did so in accordance with the company’s safe system of work procedure.

However, when he identified further issues later into his shift, he entered the bunker again, but this time had not turned off the power. He became entangled in the machinery and had to use his own phone to alert a control room operator. He was eventually extracted from the machine and taken to hospital, with injuries including compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

As a result of the incident, the company installed a mesh guard across the bunker hatch, which is padlocked shut. It can only be unlocked by the supervisor once the system has been isolated.

The second incident happened on 21 July and resulted in David McMillan suffering multiple fractures to his body, including his neck and ankle. He had been working at height when a plate on the steel gantry gave way causing him to fall to the ground. He spent 20 days in hospital. The subsequent HSE investigation found there was no maintenance schedule or system of checks for the gantry structure. The steel flooring to the gantry was found to have been corroded in places, while some of the welds holding the plates in place were at the point of failure. Following the incident, the gantry was immediately placed out of bounds before it was dismantled and removed from the site.

In relation to the first incident, West Fraser (Europe) Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with regulations 11(1) and (2) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £28,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on 17 February 2025.

For the second incident, West Fraser (Europe) Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with sections 4(2) and 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £1,040,000 at Stirling Sheriff Court on 17 February 2025.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Stuart Easson, said: “This is the second time in five years this company has been handed a large fine for failing to protect workers.

“Although both men sustained very serious injuries in these latest incidents, both are lucky to be alive.

“We hope this outcome demonstrates that repeated failures of this nature are not acceptable.”

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 self-employed roofer has received a suspended prison sentence after a man suffered serious injuries after falling from scaffold in Devon.

Daniel Hooper was given a 16-week custodial sentence, which will be suspended for a period of 12 months, following Iain Smith, 36, falling from a height of more than 25 feet while working for him, on 13 June 2023.

Father of three Mr Smith had been manually carrying old roof slates down a ladder attached to the scaffold platform at a domestic property in Honiton when he fell, suffering serious injury, including five broken vertebrae, as well as skull and rib fractures. Devon Air Ambulance took Mr Smith to Derriford Hospital where he was put into an induced coma for five days. He has since made a remarkable recovery but does still suffer from the effects of his injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Daniel Hooper, 28, trading as Hooper Roofing, failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of his employee as he did not undertake any planning or appropriately supervise the work at height or supply suitable equipment to do the task safely.

Falls from height remain a leading cause of workplace death and serious injury and HSE has published guidance about how these incidents can be avoided. It is vital that employers plan work at height on any size building or roof work project. Every employer should take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. While ladders can be used for accessing a scaffold platform, HSE guidance is clear that they should only be used for low risk and short duration tasks. Work equipment or other measures must be used to prevent falls where working at height cannot be avoided.

The HSE investigation found that ladders were used to transfer heavy slate tiles to and from the scaffolding platform and this practice was not, so far as reasonably practicable, safe.  There are alternative methods of transferring the slate tiles to and from a scaffolding platform that eliminate the need for ladders to be used for this task. These include the use of a pulley system or use of a mechanical conveyor.

Daniel Hooper, of Brook Road, Cullompton, Devon pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community at Exeter Magistrates Court on 6 February 2025.  He was also ordered to pay costs of £10,875.

HSE inspector Thomas Preston said “Falls from height account for around half of all deaths in the construction industry and Mr Smith is very fortunate to still be alive today.

“The risks of working at height and the control measures are well established, including the need to supervise the work appropriately.  Alternative methods of moving materials up and down from a scaffold platform are available and must be considered when planning roofing projects.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan and paralegal officer Helen Jacob.

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 about working at height safely 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.

New guidance to protect Britain’s midwives from excessive nitrous oxide exposure has been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The guidance is aimed at those responsible for ensuring the safety of workers and new mothers on maternity wards.

More commonly known as ‘gas and air’ when mixed with oxygen, nitrous oxide is an invisible gas used widely in healthcare, including for pain relief during childbirth.

Depending on how well exhaled gas from women in labour is controlled, midwives are at greater risk of exposure to higher levels of nitrous oxide due to the extensive time they spend working in labour rooms.

Over time, high levels of exposure can cause serious health effects including neurological problems and anaemia so it is important that levels are properly controlled.

The recently published guidance on how gas and air should be used safely has been developed by HSE together with maternity specialists in the NHS and is also relevant for professionals working in other parts of the healthcare sector, outside of maternity wards.

Nitrous oxide is subject to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). It has a long-term workplace exposure limit of 100 ppm or 183 mg.m3 8-hour time weighted average.

HSE advises that all hospitals using gas and air should carry out a COSHH risk assessment of each space in which it is used.

Helen Jones, head of HSE’s health and public services sector said: “This is an essential piece of guidance.

“It should be taken on board by those responsible for managing health and safety in maternity units and for controlling the risks faced by staff who work with nitrous oxide. This should include consideration of workers who may be more vulnerable to the effects of exposure, such as those who are pregnant.

“Workers must also be fully consulted when it comes to monitoring how effective the control measures are, including how results are to be used.

“This will include how workers will be managed if results suggest their exposure should be reduced.”

There are three main types of control systems used in maternity wards:

• a demand valve and mouthpiece or facemask used by the patient which captures exhaled breath, ensuring it is not released into the room.
• an associated extraction or scavenging system with an extraction unit located close to the breathing zone of the patient.
• general ventilation.

The demand valve and mouthpiece or facemask system is the most effective method of control. This is because the exhaled air is not released back into the room, as long as the mouthpiece or facemask is not removed before the patient exhales.

General ventilation is least effective because it:

• is located at a distance from the source (exhaled air)
• relies on the effectiveness of the room ventilation

It is important that exposure monitoring for any airborne contaminant includes the relevant contextual information for each sample taken. For nitrous oxide in a maternity department, this would include:

• the time midwives and student midwives, doctors and/or support staff attend to the delivery of a child or children (the actual exposure time, assessed over a representative number of days)
• an estimate of the level of demand by the expectant mother
• any controls present, for example scavenging equipment
• any other information that is likely to affect the exposure levels, such as movement of people or other activities in the room.

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. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
3. Guidance on the safe use of nitrous oxide in maternity units is available.

• HSE programme has led to greater collaboration amongst offshore companies
• HSE inspected various North Sea production operators as they determined how PSLP was being adopted
• A report on the PSLP inspection programme was published today (Thursday 6 February 2025)

An inspection programme by Britain’s workplace regulator has led to major safety improvements in the offshore industry.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspected 13 production operators between January 2022 and May 2024 as part of its Process Safety Leadership Principles (PSLP) programme.

In addition to their inspections, HSE inspectors were also engaging with senior leaders at offshore firms and industry groups as they determined how PSLP was being embedded across the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS).

The programme was launched by HSE after it noted a stagnating safety record in the offshore industry.

A report on the PSLP programme was published today (Thursday 6 February). To view the report, click here.

Samantha Peace, director of Energy Division at HSE, said: “One of the main successes from our PSLP programme is that offshore companies are now engaging with one another on an unprecedented level. We found that firms were looking at themselves, identifying areas of improvement, engaging with other companies and above all, finding solutions.”

This has led to developments in process safety leadership, Major Accident Hazard (MAH) management and performance, workforce engagement and utilisation of the Elected Safety Representatives.

While there were successes from the programme, HSE found cumulative risk continues to be a challenge amongst offshore companies, with the regulator also noting that the industry is prepared to accept a greater degradation of MAH barriers, rather than fixing them.

The programme also identified that a reduction in headcount has consequently led to a decrease in skills, knowledge and competency in the industry.

“Although the programme has now finished, we will continue to challenge industry,” Samantha added.

“We will continue to question companies on how they are implementing PSLP and whether they are still collaborating with other firms on the same level we witnessed during the programme.

“We will also focus on the challenges we have identified in the industry, such as risk management and risk tolerance. It is not just down to HSE to develop safety standards in these areas however, companies will need to drive their own self-improvement. The PSLP programme shows that this can be done through collaboration, engagement and application – industry now needs to continue along this path.”

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. Further details on the latest HSE news releases is available.
3. The PSLP inspection programme report can be found here

A Lancashire farm partnership has been fined £80,000 after a man with ‘a heart of gold’ died following an incident at a dairy farm in Hutton near Preston.

Joshua Hardman, who was just 23, suffered fatal head injuries as he helped to inflate a tractor tyre at the farm on 7 May 2021. The father of one from Longridge, was working as a farmhand at the farm run by W Hesketh and Sons.

At the time of the incident, Joshua had been helping one of the partners in the business, Bill Hesketh, re-seat and inflate a large tractor tyre. As Mr Hesketh inflated the inner tube within the tyre, it suddenly exploded and the catastrophic release of compressed air propelled the wheel rim into Joshua, causing traumatic head injuries. He was taken to hospital and underwent skull and brain surgeries, but he subsequently passed away on 11 June after a further deterioration in his condition.

• Tyre removal, replacement and inflation should only be tackled by competent staff and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance is available.

In a statement, his family said: “Joshua was a very loving, caring, kind and gentle person. He had a heart of gold.

“He was also an amazing dad, and it is heart-breaking that he will never reach his full potential in that role.

“His five-year-old daughter will miss out on a great deal of love and affection and the role he would have played in her life.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that W Hesketh and Sons had failed to properly assess and plan this work activity. They also failed to identify and put in place the measures necessary to control the risks involved when inflating large commercial tyres.

The investigation also found that the risk of an explosion was much higher because the tyre, wheel rim and inner tube were all in a poorly maintained condition. A suitable and sufficient assessment had not been made to determine whether the damaged tyre, inner tube and wheel rim were suitable to be inflated safely.

W Hesketh and Sons, of Grange Lane, Hutton, Preston, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974. They were fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £8,605 costs at a hearing at Preston Magistrates Court on 4 February 2025.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Anthony Banks said: “This was a tragic incident, and a much-loved young man has lost his life. It could have easily been avoided with the right controls in place.

“HSE would like to make all employers aware that, before they undertake the inflation of large commercial tyres, they need to have correctly assessed the risk and have in place the suitable controls for the task.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and supported by paralegal officer Rebecca Foreman.

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.
5. HSE guidance on working safely with tyres is available.