• Father-of-one Joseph Tuck sustained serious spinal injuries that prevented him returning to a physical job.

• Simple measures to prevent a fall, including securing the stairwell cover or installing edge protection, were not in place.

• HSE identified multiple failures in the management of work at height.

A domestic house builder in Sowerby Bridge was fined after a labourer sustained serious spinal injuries when he fell one storey onto concrete through a stairwell opening.

It was only his second week on the job when Mr Joseph Tuck, 24, a father of one, stepped backwards and fell through an opening intended for a staircase that had not yet been installed. He was working as a temporary labourer for a scaffolding company in January 2024 at a site of four new domestic dwellings being constructed by Hillbeck Homes (Sowerby Bridge) Ltd.

The stairwell opening had not been securely covered (previous loose scaffold boards had been removed) and the open edges were not protected. There were no alternative means of accessing the sub-floor and West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and the HART team had to rescue Mr. Tuck who had fallen unconscious. He sustained serious spinal injuries which prevented him from working for months after the incident and has not returned to a physical job since.

An HSE investigation found that Hillbeck Homes (Sowerby Bridge) Ltd had failed to put adequate measures in place to prevent falls from height, resulting in Mr Tuck falling through an unprotected stairwell opening and suffering life-changing injuries.

HSE guidance states that employers must take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent and mitigate falls when working at height. This includes properly planning the work, carrying out task-specific risk assessments, and putting in place physical safeguards such as scaffolding, guardrails or coverings to prevent falls, including where there is a risk of falling through openings in floors, roofs or other work platforms. Further guidance can be found here: Work at Height – HSE.

HSE Inspector Louise Redgrove said:

“Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of death in the construction industry, accounting for around a quarter of all fatal injuries to workers each year.

“This was a wholly avoidable incident caused by basic failures in planning and supervision. The stairwell opening was not adequately protected, and simple measures such as securing the scaffold boards or installing edge protection would have prevented Mr Tuck from falling and sustaining serious spinal injuries.

“This fine should serve as a clear reminder to the construction industry that both the courts and HSE take breaches of health and safety law extremely seriously.

“HSE will not hesitate to take enforcement action where employers fail to take the necessary steps to protect workers from harm.”

Hillbeck Homes (Sowerby Bridge) Ltd formerly of 1 Bretton Place, Otley Road, Guiseley, Leeds LS20 8FL was found guilty on three charges.  They failed to properly plan and appropriately supervise work at height and to take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent a fall.  The company was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £9,284.05 in costs at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 16 September 2026.

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Matthew Reynolds and paralegal officer Henrietta Ruthven.

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 are available.
4. Relevant guidance can be found here Introduction to working at height safely – HSE; The Work at Height Regulations 2005
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.

• Maintenance engineer suffered catastrophic, life-changing injuries after his arm was pulled into an unguarded conveyor
• Working alone, he waved at a CCTV camera for help after becoming trapped in the machinery
• Factory Services UK Limited fined £160,000 after pleading guilty to health and safety breaches

A Merseyside animal‑feed manufacturer has been sentenced after a maintenance engineer suffered severe, life‑changing injuries when his arm was drawn into an unguarded conveyor.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Factory Services UK Limited allowed workers access to dangerous parts of machinery for many years at its site on Moorgate Road, Deacon Park, Knowsley Industrial Park, L33 7RX.

On 18 March 2025, maintenance engineer Daniel Slinger was working a nightshift when he was asked to look at an issue on a conveyor. While the conveyor was still running, Mr Slinger reached through a hole in the side of the conveyor casing to clear away some material. His arm was pulled into the moving machinery. There was no guard in place and no emergency stop button in the area.

Working alone at the time, there was nobody nearby to see or hear what had happened. In an effort to raise the alarm, he repeatedly waved at a CCTV camera in the hope that someone monitoring the system would spot him and come to his aid, nobody did. Eventually, after 40 seconds, he was able to free his arm. This was despite the company’s own safe systems of work requiring machinery to be guarded and isolated before any maintenance or cleaning activity was carried out.

Mr Slinger suffered catastrophic injuries to his forearm and hand, including a fracture and extensive degloving. He required multiple operations, blood transfusions and continues to receive ongoing specialist treatment. He remains unable to return to work.

HSE’s investigation established that the hole had been cut into the conveyor years earlier to allow workers to clear blockages while the machine remained in operation. A second conveyor on site was also found to have a similar unauthorised access point. Despite routine inspections, management walkarounds and audits, the dangerous modifications had not been identified or rectified.

Following the incident, the company fitted a fixed mesh guard and installed an emergency stop button at the location.

Factory Services UK Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 8 September 2026. They were fined £160,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4728.

Following the hearing, HSE Inspector, Ian Betley, said:

“Mr Slinger suffered devastating and life-altering injuries as a result of this preventable incident. Had the correct protections been in place he would not have been exposed to the dangerous parts of a running conveyor through a hole cut into the machine.

“Factory Services UK Limited had risk assessments and safe systems of work, but they were not followed or enforced. Employers must ensure guarding is properly maintained, safe systems are implemented, and workers are protected from foreseeable risks.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Alan Hughes and paralegal officer Henrietta Ruthven.

Further Information

1. Guidance on the safe use of work equipment, including guarding requirements, can be found here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l22.htm
2. Further details on the latest HSE news releases are available at: https://press.hse.gov.uk/
3. HSE does not pass sentences, set guidelines or collect fines. Sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences can be found at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/sentencing-and-the-council/about-sentencing-guidelines/about-published-guidelines/health-and-safety-offences-corporate-manslaughter-and-food-safety-and-hygiene-offences/

• Gheorghita Arsene, 33, died after being buried under around two tonnes of soil when the trench collapsed at a site in Banstead on 24 June 2020.
• A joint investigation found that the trench had no supports to prevent it from collapsing and soil had been piled right next to the edge.
• The collapse happened during work to replace a damaged pipe at the bottom of a deep excavation.

Two companies and a self-employed contracts manager have been sentenced after a worker was crushed to death when an unsupported trench collapsed at a site in Surrey.

Gheorghita Arsene, 33, who was known as Geo, was working at a site on Park Road, Banstead, Surrey on 24 June 2020. He had been working to replace a damaged pipe at the bottom of the deep trench, which had been dug with a three-tonne digger. He had been clearing soil with a shovel and a pickaxe when, without warning, the trench walls collapsed. Although rescue attempts were made, he was buried in approximately 2 tonnes of soil and sadly died at the scene.

A joint investigation by Surrey Police and the Health and Safety Executive over five years found there were no supports in the trench and excavated soil had been deposited immediately next to it. The investigation also found that, earlier that day, Anthony O’Connor a self-employed contracts manager working for T Vaughan Limited, had observed another worker in the same unsupported excavation earlier that day. Despite being aware of the measures required to prevent a trench collapse, he failed to ensure they were in place.

Earlier that day, O’Connor had observed another worker carrying out work in the same unsupported excavation. As an experienced contracts manager, he knew suitable measures were required to prevent a trench collapse but failed to ensure they were implemented.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey on 9 September 2026, principal contractor Appledorn Developments Limited and subcontractor T Vaughan Limited were convicted of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

T Vaughan Limited was fined £650,000 and ordered to pay costs of £40,000.

Appledorn Developments Limited was fined £500,000.

Anthony O’Connor, a self-employed contracts manager working for T Vaughan Limited, pleaded guilty on 22 May 2026 to breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 by failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others who may have been affected by his acts or omissions at work.

He was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesperson said:

“Gheorghita Arsene’s death was as horrifying as it was preventable. He lost his life because basic precautions were not in place to protect workers from the well-known risks that come with excavation work. Anthony O’Connor had observed workers in the trench without adequate protection and was aware of the measures required to prevent a collapse.

“This case is a stark reminder that when basic safety standards are ignored, the consequences can be fatal. Companies and individuals alike have legal duties to protect workers and where they fail to do so, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action.

“Our thoughts today are with Mr Arsene’s loved ones, as they mourn their loss.”

This prosecution was brought by the Crown Prosecution Service.

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. 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.   

• Worker suffered multiple fractures after arm was caught in unguarded conveyor machinery.
• HSE investigation found the company failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery.
• HSE guidance explains employers must take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous machinery.

A baked goods manufacturer has been fined £333,333 after a worker suffered multiple fractures, including a broken arm when it became entangled in a sausage roll conveyor line.

Ribeca Jesuthasan was working for David Wood Baking Limited at the company’s food manufacturing factory in Sheerness, Kent, on 1 December 2023.

Ms Jesuthasan was cleaning a sausage roll production line when she passed her hand through an unguarded conveyor roller. Although the conveyor line had initially been switched off, it began to operate while she was cleaning it.

Her arm was pulled into the rotating roller, causing multiple fractures.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that David Wood Baking Limited had failed to prevent access to the rotating parts of the sausage roll conveyor line.

Employers have a legal duty to take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. This will normally involve the use of fixed guarding. Where routine access is required, interlocked guards may be necessary to prevent dangerous parts moving before a person can reach the danger zone.

HSE guidance, A recipe for safety: Health and safety in food and drink manufacture (HSG252), covers the main health and safety hazards in the food and drink industries and provides practical advice on how to manage the associated risks.

David Wood Baking Limited of Calverley Road, Leeds, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £333,333 and ordered to pay £7644 in costs at Medway Court on 1 September 2026.

HSE inspector Delcina Burden said:

“Too many workers are seriously injured every year as a result of contact with dangerous parts of machinery due to inadequate or absent guarding.

“If simple measures had been taken, this incident could have been avoided.

“The sentence handed down by the court in this case should demonstrate that the courts and HSE take breaches of health and safety law seriously. We will not hesitate to take action against companies that fail to do all they can to keep people safe.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Iain Jordan, paralegal officer Anushka Lulith, and prosecution advocate Ruksana Begum.

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.

• Food manufacturer has been fined £120,000
• Workers exposed to serious health and safety risks
• Prosecution follows HSE inspections at large bakeries across Great Britain

A food manufacturer has been fined after employees were at risk of developing occupational asthma a factory in Buckingham.

Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court heard how workers at Puratos Limited were at risk after HSE found the levels of inhalable dust at the site could cause illnesses such as occupational asthma.

A HSE inspection carried out on 03 December 2024 identified a number of unsafe practices, including dust escaping from machinery due to leaks, the use of compressed airlines to blow down dust deposits and dry sweeping using brushes and brooms.

A workplace dust monitoring report from18 December 2024 confirmed that employees were exposed to inhalable dust concentrations above the workplace exposure limits set by HSE during the testing undertaken.

HSE has been carrying out a series of inspections at large bakeries across Great Britain from January 2026. Inspectors have been checking that employers are properly protecting workers from the dangers of dusty ingredients including flour dust.

The investigation also found that workers were required to manually lift 25kg sacks of ingredients on a daily basis. Repeated manual handling of heavy loads can lead to musculoskeletal injuries and should be avoided where reasonably practicable.

The site had also previously been inspected in 2021 with enforcement action being taken in relation to employees’ exposure to dust as well as manual handling risks arising from its food manufacturing activities.

Puratos Limited, of Buckingham Industrial Park, Buckingham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6270 at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on 17 July 2026.

Following the hearing, HSE inspector Emma Page said:

“Too many workers in bakeries are suffering from unnecessary exposure to dusty ingredients, including flour. When employers prevent exposure, the risk of occupational asthma is removed.

“In the food and drink industries, around one-third of reportable injuries are acute injuries caused by handling and lifting. Employers must ensure they are properly protecting workers from the dangers of dusty ingredients and the manual handling of heavy materials.”

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. Relevant guidance can be found here: Flour (Bakers and millers) – COSHH
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.

• Samson Containers Ltd left welders exposed to cancer-causing fumes without ventilation or protective equipment.
• Company failed to act on two separate HSE improvement notices issued in September 2024 and February 2025.
• Company also failed to provide health surveillance to monitor the hearing of their employees exposed to high levels of noise.

A Lancashire manufacturer of skips and metal containers has been fined £30,000 after repeatedly failing to protect its workers from carcinogenic welding fumes at its site in Thornton-Cleveleys.

Despite being served with an Enforcement Notice by HSE inspectors on two occasions, Samson Containers Ltd continued to carry out mild steel welding without adequate control measures to protect their employees. Inspectors also found the company failed to meet it duty to monitor the health of workers exposed to high levels of noise – risking long-term harm.

During a visit to the site on 29 August 2024, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors identified several issues including high-intensity welding without local exhaust ventilation (LEV), inadequate welfare facilities, and a lack of assessment of noise risk, along with other health and safety issues on site. Multiple improvement notices were served.

Inspectors returned on multiple occasions to assess compliance, but found that the company had done nothing to comply with the notices relating to welding fume control and health surveillance for noise. This failure left employees exposed to carcinogenic welding fumes and at risk of becoming seriously ill. The company also failed to provide health surveillance to monitor the hearing of their employees exposed to high levels of noise throughout the shift.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer advises that exposure to mild steel welding fumes can cause lung cancer and possibly kidney cancer in humans. To control the risk, suitable ventilation must be present. Where this ventilation does not adequately control exposure, respiratory protective equipment (RPE) should be provided. Welding should not be undertaken without these control measures in place. This is applicable to welding indoors and outdoors.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, Regulation 9 (1) requires employers to provide employees with health surveillance involving hearing checks where they are regularly exposed to high levels of noise or where employees are particularly at risk e.g. pre‑existing hearing loss or sensitivity to noise. Health surveillance helps employers to identify early signs of hearing damage, prevent further deterioration by prompting action, and making sure that their noise controls measures are working effectively.

The company Samson Containers Limited was found guilty at Warrington Magistrates’ Court of failing to comply with two Improvement Notices contrary to Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £4571 in costs along with a victim surcharge of £2000 on 16 June 2026.

HSE Inspector Gemma Feerick said:

“This was a company that put its workers at risk of serious, long-term health conditions because it repeatedly failed to get the basics right – even when expressly served with notices to put proper controls in place.

“These fines should send a clear message that HSE takes failure to comply with enforcement notices extremely seriously and will act against companies and individuals who fail to protect the health and safety of their employees.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Julian White 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:

• Safety Bulletin 15: HSE Guidance welding fume 2019 – GOV.UK
• Welding fume control
• L108: Controlling noise at work

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.

• Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited has been fined after a yard operative was struck by a forklift truck at its Aberdeen Harbour premises.
• An HSE investigation found the company failed to ensure adequate separation between pedestrians and vehicles during loading and unloading operations.

A shipping company based in Aberdeen has been fined after an employee suffered serious and life-changing injuries when he was struck by a forklift truck at the company’s yard.

A 43-year-old man was working at Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited’s premises at Palmerston Quay, Aberdeen, when he was struck by a reversing forklift truck driven by a colleague on 26 September 2024. The worker was on foot, unclipping the curtain side of an articulated trailer, when the rear nearside wheel of the forklift made contact with his right leg, pulling him to the ground.

The worker suffered multiple fractures to his right foot and lower leg, as well as a de-gloving injury, undergoing two surgical procedures and skin grafts. He has also required counselling because of the incident and has yet to return to work.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited failed to ensure its workplace was organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate safely. While the company had a traffic management plan in place, it lacked the necessary detail to ensure that loading and unloading – which routinely took place concurrently in the same area – could be carried out safely without putting employees on foot at risk from moving vehicles.

HSE concluded it was reasonably foreseeable that an employee on foot faced a risk of being struck by a moving vehicle when both the pedestrian and driver were concentrating on their respective tasks near each other.

Following the investigation, an Improvement Notice was served on the company. In response, Streamline made a series of improvements to its traffic management arrangements to the satisfaction of HSE.

By law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without putting workers at risk. Guidance on managing vehicle movements in the workplace is available on the HSE website.

Streamline Shipping Agencies Limited, of Streamline Terminal, Blaikies Quay, Aberdeen, AB11 5PU, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17(1) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £146,700 and ordered to pay a Victim Surcharge of £11,000 at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 22 May 2026.

HSE Inspector Nicky Smith said:

“This was a serious and wholly avoidable incident that has had a profound and lasting impact on this worker’s life.

“Employers have a legal duty to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles can move safely within their workplaces, particularly in busy areas where loading and unloading takes place.

“Having a traffic management plan is not enough if it does not contain the detail needed to protect workers on the ground.

“We will not hesitate to hold companies to account when they fall short of their  obligations.”

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: Transport safety in waste and recycling – 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 in Scotland can be found here.

• Stuart Garnet, 44, was fatally struck by a reversing telehandler at a Cumbria-based waste company
• An HSE investigation found H. Wicks (Lindal) Limited failed to ensure pedestrians and vehicles could circulate safely on site

A waste company in Cumbria has been fined £60,000 after an employee was hit and killed by a reversing telehandler in Barrow-in-Furness.

Stuart Garnet, 44, was working at H. Wicks (Lindal) Limited’s waste facility when he was struck by a reversing telehandler on 12 May 2022. He subsequently died of his injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that H. Wicks (Lindal) Limited failed to ensure the site was organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate in a safe manner.

By law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without putting workers at risk. Guidance on managing vehicle movements in the workplace is available on the HSE website.

H. Wicks (Lindal) Limited, of Scarth Road, Sowerby Woods Business Park, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,624.75 at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 26 May 2026. A statutory surcharge of £2,000 was also imposed.

HSE Principal Inspector Caroline Shorrock said:

“Stuart Garnet’s death was an avoidable tragedy, and our thoughts are with his friends and family.

“Every year, a significant number of workplace accidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur because of poor separation of pedestrians and vehicles.

“Had the company implemented suitable separation measures, this fatal injury would not have occurred. The fine imposed on H. Wicks (Lindal) Limited should serve as a clear reminder to everyone in the waste and recycling industry that HSE will hold to account those who fail to keep their workers safe.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Matthew Reynolds and paralegal officer Henrietta Ruthven.

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: Transport safety in waste and recycling – 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 in Scotland can be found here

• Worker has three fingers partially severed  after contact with moving machinery at Glasgow fuel plant
• Radio miscommunication led to worker believing high-spinning blades had been turned off
• HSE investigation found the company failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery

A biomass company in Glasgow has been fined a six-figure sum after a worker lost parts of three fingers in machinery at the Daldowie Fuel Plant.

The incident happened at SMW Limited’s site in Uddingston, near Glasgow, in 2023.

A shift operator with 17 years’ experience at the plant, suffered his injuries on 8 June 2023 while attempting to clear a blockage on a surge hopper – a large vessel through which processed material passes at the end of the production line.

The 57-year-old employee had been clearing a blockage in a rotary lock valve which contained rotating blades that turn at 25rpm. As he attempted to clear the blockage, he removed a metal clip and rubber gaiter to gain access to the valve. Communication with the control room, which operated the valve remotely, was carried out by hand-held radio. There was no line of sight between the two areas, and the radios were subject to interference.

A miscommunication over the radio led the employee to believe that the rotary lock valve had been turned off. Believing it was safe to do so, he inserted his right hand into the hopper, where it came into contact with the moving blades. The index, middle and ring fingers of his right hand were all partially severed, and he has not returned to work since the incident.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that while the company had a specific safe system of work in place for clearing blockages on surge hopper rotary lock valves – which the man had been trained on as recently as April 2023 – they had failed to ensure that access to the dangerous parts of the machinery was prevented.

HSE provides detailed guidance on safeguarding machinery and preventing access to dangerous parts, including under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). PUWER places duties on people and companies who own, operate or have control over work equipment. PUWER also places responsibilities on businesses and organisations whose employees use work equipment, whether owned by them or not. Further information on PUWER is available at the HSE website

SMW Limited pleaded guilty to breaching The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Regulations 11(1) and (2) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Section 33(1)(c) at Hamilton Sheriff Court on 20 May 2026. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay a Victim Surcharge of £9,000.

HSE inspector Nicola Kerr said:

“This man’s injuries had had a profound impact on his life, and were completely preventable.

“Where workers are required to interact with machinery containing dangerous moving parts, employers must ensure that adequate physical safeguards are in place to prevent access to those parts.

“Relying solely on radio communication to control isolation – particularly where there is no line of sight and interference is possible – is simply not good enough.

“A fixed guard would have been a reasonably practicable measure that could have prevented this incident entirely.”

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 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) – overview – 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 in Scotland can be found here.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has confirmed a new non-executive director appointment to the Board of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Rebecca Emmett replaces Martin Esom, who left the HSE Board in March 2026, and brings with her a wealth of experience from the local government and public sectors that will help HSE continue to deliver on its 10-year strategy.

Rebecca is the Deputy Chief Executive at Basingstoke and Deane Council, having been appointed in 2022. She has a degree in environmental science and geology from Portsmouth University, and started her career as a consultant working for WSP undertaking geotechnical and contamination ground investigations.

A subsequent career change into Local Government led Rebecca to work for over 10 years in and around London leading a range of frontline services. This included roles at the London Boroughs of Croydon, Hackney and Southwark, as well as Three Rivers District Council. During her time at the London Borough of Hackney, Rebecca was responsible for leading the Council’s regulatory teams to support the delivery of the Olympic Park and 2012 Olympic Games.

During this latest round of recruitment to the Board, the Secretary of State also reappointed Debbie Gillatt as non-executive director (NED) for a further 5 years to the HSE Board.

Find out more about all our Board members on our website.

Further information

• Recruitment for new NEDs is an ongoing process as members come to the end of their terms.
• It is managed by the Public Appointments team in the Department for Work and Pensions, our sponsor department, with involvement from our Board Chair, Sarah Newton.