Latest news with #HealthandSafetyatWorketcAct1974
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Firm fined £1m after worker killed in Manchester by reversing HGV
A wholesale grocery supplier has been fined £1m after one of its workers was killed by a reversing Northern Limited employee Lee Warburton was making a delivery with a colleague to a store in Manchester when he was fatally crushed in February Health & Safety Executive (HSE) said the 53-year-old father-of-three from Stockport became trapped between the lorry and a wall while acting as a banksman, directing the HGV into an unloading London-based company admitted failing to implement a safe system of work for vehicle movements and adequately assess the risks for employees acting as banksmen. Mr Warburton's partner, Hayley Tomlinson, described the day he died as the worst of her life. "To be taken in such a cruel manner made it even harder," she said. "Knowing the pain and fear Lee must have gone through was unbearable. "But nothing compares to the moment I had to tell our children their Daddy was never coming home."She added: "It broke my children's spirits - they lost the sparkle in their eyes. Lee was their hero."My children will miss out on all the milestones Lee should have been here for – walking them down the aisle, meeting their first child. "They miss the cuddles, the love he showed them, the days out. This has changed our lives forever." The HSE investigation found Bestway Northern Limited, of Abbey Road in Park Royal, had failed to implement a safe system of work for vehicle company also failed to adequately assess the risks involved in the task or provide sufficient training for employees acting as pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. As well as being fined £1m, it was ordered at Manchester Magistrates' Court to pay prosecution costs of £11, the hearing, HSE inspector Jane Carroll said: "The company had failed to implement a safe system of work for its delivery and unloading activities, thereby exposing employees and others to the risk of being struck or caught by workplace vehicles."Nearly a quarter of all deaths involving workplace transport occur during reversing, most of which can be avoided by taking simple precautions."All work settings involving vehicles need to consider the risks arising from their use and implement adequate measures to ensure the safety of those involved in these activities." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Independent
15-04-2025
- The Independent
Workman ‘lucky to be alive' after being run over by truck at waste site on first day
A worker is 'lucky to be alive' after he was hit from behind by a moving shovel loader at a waste site on the first day of his new job. CCTV footage shows the moment the 40-year-old man was hit by the digger when he was hand picking waste at the Mossdown Road site of Wheeldon Brothers Waste Limited in Oldham. He suffered a bone fracture, as well as muscle and nerve damage to his leg after the incident on 28 July 2021. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that he had been hand picking waste after the conveyor belt they used had been removed from use after it was significantly damaged in a fire a few months earlier. The investigation also found the company had failed to ensure there were adequate measures in place for the safe segregation of vehicles and pedestrians. Wheeldon Brothers Waste Limited, of Bury New Road, Bury, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay £4102.32 costs at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court on 2 April.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Thurrock chemicals company fined £2.5m for leaking acids
A chemical manufacturing company has been fined £2.5m after highly corrosive acids were leaked into the were closed in West Thurrock and a gas cloud spread across nearby towns after the hydrochloric acid leaked from three chemical storage tanks in January months later, sulphuric acid leaked from a cracked pipe at the same site in Chemicals Ltd pleaded guilty to four offences and was sentenced at Westminster Combined Court on 28 March. "The uncontrolled release of significant quantities of hazardous substances in these cases was entirely avoidable," said Maria Strangward, principal inspector for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)."An appropriate planned maintenance programme should have been in place to ensure that pipes do not fail, and valves operate."During the incident on 6 January 2020, HSE said about 300,000 litres (65,990 gallons) was released into the atmosphere due to poorly maintained pipework. Emergency services advised businesses and schools in West Thurrock and Chafford Hundred to shut, after a cloud of hydrogen chloride could be HSE, which investigated and prosecuted the company, said the pipework had not been installed, maintained and inspected sufficiently. On 29 August 2020, the sulphuric acid was released because the valve that was designed to control leaks did not operate as intended, the HSE 87 cubic metres of the acid was released into the atmosphere, and the leak continued for two days due to the "inability to operate" the manual Chemicals Ltd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and two offences under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
28-02-2025
- The Independent
Indoor ski centre fined £100,000 over schoolboy's birthday party death
An indoor ski company has been fined £100,000 after a 12-year-old boy died from head injuries at a birthday party in 2021. Louis Watkiss died in a toboggan crash at the SnowDome in Tamworth Staffordshire, on September 24 2021. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the schoolboy was descending the main ski slope when his toboggan slid into the back of a member of staff who was conducting a slope walk. The watchdog said the staff member fell backwards onto Louis, who died at the scene from his injuries. An HSE investigation found the company 'failed to ensure the safety of its customers', including Louis, while they were tobogganing and that the boy's death was preventable. The watchdog found 'there was no safe system of work, information, instruction, training or supervision to manage the risk of collisions between toboggans and pedestrians'. SnowDome Limited, of Leisure Island, River Drive, Tamworth, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty at Telford Magistrates' Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the HSE said. They were fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,534 at a hearing on Wednesday, it added. 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. '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's family.'
The Independent
26-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Indoor ski centre fined £100,000 over schoolboy's toboggan crash death
An indoor ski company has been fined £100,000 after a 12-year-old schoolboy died from head injuries in a toboggan crash at a birthday party. Louis Watkiss, 12, died at the SnowDome in Tamworth, Staffordshire, on September 24 2021 when he slid into a member of staff who fell onto him, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said. An HSE investigation found the company 'failed to ensure the safety of its customers', including Louis, while they were tobogganing and that the boy's death was preventable. The watchdog found 'there was no safe system of work, information, instruction, training or supervision to manage the risk of collisions between toboggans and pedestrians'. SnowDome Limited, of Leisure Island, River Drive, Tamworth, Staffordshire, pleaded guilty at Telford Magistrates' Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the HSE said. They were fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,534 at a hearing on Wednesday, it added. The watchdog said Louis 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. The staff member fell backwards onto Louis, who died at the scene from his injuries, the HSE said. 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. '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's family.'
