An MOT Testing centre in Finsbury Park has been fined £10,000 after a child sustained life changing injuries after being hit by a car and crushed.

A 14-year-old boy was with an adult, sitting down, waiting for an MOT to be conducted at New Auto Tech Limited on 4 May 2022. The chair was situated in front of the brake rollers, however, as the MOT technician attempted to move the car in reverse, the vehicle was driven forwards off the brake rollers, crushing the child against the wall.

The boy required immediate hospital treatment, having sustained multiple pelvis fractures. They were off school for over a year and bed bound for three months following the incident.

There are many known risks associated with the motor vehicle repair industry and detailed HSE guidance is available.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that New Auto Tech Limited had failed to ensure that members of the public were in a safe area when vehicles were being moved.

The MOT Centre had a designated ‘viewing area’ to the side of the brake roller bay. This was a painted box on the floor with a chair placed inside it. However there were no protective barriers and the business failed to stop customers from moving out of this area into parts of the workshop where vehicles were moving.

New Auto Tech Limited of Alroy Road, London, pleaded guilty to breaching  Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for its failure to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of those not in its employment. The company was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,810  following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on 10 January 2025.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Michelle Morphy said: “This case sends a clear message to MOT Test Centres that HSE will hold them to account if they fail to protect both workers and members of the public.

“On this occasion, they failed to protect a child, by allowing them to move from their allotted viewing area into an operational area, which should have been restricted to workers only.

“As such the child was seriously injured in a totally avoidable incident.”

This HSE prosecution was supported by HM inspector Oscar Dower and brought by enforcement lawyer Jayne Wilson and paralegal officer Lucy Gallagher.

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 builder has been given a suspended prison sentence after he put the lives of workers at risk on a construction site in London.

David Beadle, trading as Beadle the Builders, failed to comply with a prohibition notice issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in relation to unsafe working at height at the site on Woodyates Road in South East London.

Falls from height remain the leading cause of death within the construction industry and HSE has published guidance about how these incidents can be avoided.

A proactive investigation by HSE found Beadle allowed workers under his control on at least three occasions to continue using a scaffold which was not properly constructed. It was a potentially dangerous structure at risk of collapse and in breach of the prohibition notice.

Sixty-three-year-old Beadle also failed to ensure that suitable and sufficient measures were in place to prevent workers falling a distance that would have caused personal injury. No edge protection had been installed to the side of the roof, the flat dormer roof, the front elevation of the roof, and safe access was not provided.

He was given a 26-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months and was told to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Beadle of Rochester Way, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulation 2005 and 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.  He was also ordered to pay £6,043 in costs at the hearing at Bexley Magistrates Court on 7 August 2024.

HSE Inspector Emma Bitz said “We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those who fail to do all that they can to keep workers safe.

“The risks from working at height are well known, as are the control measures required to reduce those risks.

“Falls from height remain the largest cause of workplace deaths in the construction industry.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Chloe Ward and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Forman.

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 can be found here.
5. Guidance on working at height is available.