A Northampton sweet-maker failed to install adequate guarding on a machine, which was involved in an incident in which a worker suffered serious injuries to his hand.
The incident took place at Tilley’s Sweets’ factory in Thrapston on 9 June 2011. A 28-year-old worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, was attempting to clear a blockage from the machine.
He was removing sweets, which had caused the blockage, when the glove on his right hand snagged on the moving parts of the machine and pulled his hand inside. He suffered crush injuries to his hand and required several operations to straighten the tendons. He was unable to return to work for four months owing to his injuries and still struggles with the use of his hand.
An HSE investigation found the machine didn’t have adequate guards in place. The watchdog issued a Prohibition Notice, which required the machine to be taken out of service until a guard had been installed to prevent access to its dangerous parts.
HSE inspector Elizabeth Hornsby said: “This incident was debilitating and traumatic for the employee yet a simple guard would have stopped this from happening.
“Organisations have a duty to protect their workforce and HSE will not hesitate to prosecute those who break the law in this way.”
Tilley’s Sweets appeared at Kettering Magistrates’ Court on 20 February and pleaded guilty to breaching reg.11(1) of PUWER 1998, for failing to prevent access to the dangerous parts of the machine. It was fined £1500 and ordered to pay £5175 in costs.
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