A Manchester-based construction company has been fined after workers were put at risk of exposure to asbestos.  A1 Property Maintenance Management Limited was acting as the principal contractor during work at the former Unicorn Public House on Liverpool Road, Eccles, Greater Manchester.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is ramping up efforts to tackle work-related ill health, overhaul RIDDOR reporting, review its Fee for Intervention (FFI) scheme, and smooth the BSR’s transition into a standalone body – all while keeping enforcement sharp and regulation smarter. We report back from the regulator's AGM, which took place last week.  

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted roofing contractor Gary Smith for failing to provide edge protection for subcontractors.   The result was that a worker suffered serious injuries after falling from a flat roof.  It was the second time that Smith, trading as GJ Smith Roofing, had failed to provide edge protection on a job, with HSE previously taking enforcement action against him.

The company behind New Brighton’s Adventureland has been charged following an incident involving an inflatable pirate ship in 2023.  Wilkie Leisure Group Ltd, the firm behind the popular seaside attraction, is due to appear at Wirral Magistrates Court on October 2. A court date had been set for July 24 but the case was adjourned. The courts confirmed to the LDRS the company has been charged with two counts related to an incident that took place at the Adventureland on Marine Promenade, New Brighton on November 18 2023. The case is being brought by Wirral Borough Council.

A textile manufacturer has been fined £220,000 after one of its directors was killed by a reversing HGV in Rochdale.  Daniel Ames was a director of The British Millerain Company Limited and had offered to stay behind at the company warehouse to wait for the return of the vehicle on 22 June 2023.

A serious incident involving workplace transport at a West Midlands textile processing factory has underlined the critical importance of managing vehicle movements on site – and the devastating consequences when this is neglected.  In March 2023, a worker at JMP Wilcox & Company Limited was struck by a telescopic handler while operating a ride-on electric pallet truck inside the company’s Bilston facility. The 42-year-old man sustained severe leg injuries, resulting in life-changing consequences.

Doctors managed to successfully reattach the thumb of a teenage apprentice after it had been severed off by a rotating blade.  The then 18-year-old resumed his apprenticeship with another firm following the procedure.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has formally appointed Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures UK (CROSS-UK) as the official Voluntary Occurrence Reporting System (VORS) operator for structural and fire safety until at least 2028.

An Altrincham-based construction company has been fined £165,000 after it repeatedly failed to put in place suitable fire precautions during renovation in Preston.  Glovers Court Ltd were found guilty of four offences in relation to the redevelopment of  a former city centre warehouse into 35 apartments spread across six floors. The Glovers Court project was under construction on 16 May 2023 when it was visited by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS). A number of fire safety issues were identified and LFRS prohibited the use of the building, meaning residents already living there had to leave their homes.  As construction work was still ongoing, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and HSE worked in multi-agency collaboration to deal with this premises.

A Norfolk-based food wholesaler has been fined £66,000 after an employee’s leg had to be amputated after he was injured while loading a lorry.  The worker was loading an HGV using a pallet truck at Osprey Foods Limited, in Holt, Norfolk on 5 July 2023.