North Yorkshire animal feed company prosecuted following accident at work

A north Yorkshire animal feed company has been prosecuted for breaching safety laws, after a worker sustained serious injuries to his hand.

An employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, had his hand crushed at A. One Feed Supplements Ltd in Thirsk when trying to clean an air slide after he was informed that it was not working.

Paul Newton, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector, stated: "The risk from contact with moving parts of machinery is well known in industry and should have been more so to this company as it was prosecuted in 2007 when another employee was injured."

A. One Feed Supplements were prosecuted for failing to ensure that safety measures were in place to prevent the movement of parts before any worker got too close.

Moreover, the claimant was not properly trained in how to clean the machinery.

The company pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined £15,000 with costs of £2,594.30.

Injury is common within the manufacturing sector. Over the past 5 years, an average of 31 workers has died in workplace accidents annually in the manufacturing industry.

Good training, comprehensive risk assessment and health and safety programmes are vital to limit preventable accidents.

Published by Kevin Round