Work injury leads to Warwickshire County Council being fined

Warwickshire County Council has been fined after a worker lost most of two fingers in a work injury.

John Shields, trading as Shieldson Heating, was checking a heating pump in the basement plant room at the council's headquarters in 2009, when his hand was pulled into the running belts of a hot water pump.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the back of the machine was not adequately guarded to legal requirements.

Warwickshire County Council pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and was fined £7,000 with costs of £5,235.

Paul Thompson, an inspector for the HSE, said: "Anyone, being an employer or in control of work equipment, must ensure that dangerous parts of machinery are adequately guarded and it is unacceptable that Warwickshire County Council failed to do this."

The HSE advises workers and employers to carry out risk assessments to help identify hazards and evaluate the prospective problems as well as what precautions can be taken.

Published by Kevin Round