Two West Yorkshire businesses, Brighouse Pallet Services Ltd and Seal It Services Ltd, have been fined for safety breaches after a HGV driver suffered a fracture to one of his neck vertebrae.  Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that on 5 August 2020 the delivery driver, an employee of Brighouse Pallet Services Ltd was struck by one or two falling pallets whilst they were being unloaded from a HGV trailer by a Seal It Services Ltd fork-lift truck (FLT) operator at the latter company’s site at Elland.

Network Rail has been hit with a £1.4m fine for a health and safety breach which led to a worker being crushed between a 25-tonne truck and another vehicle. The worker suffered catastrophic and life-changing injuries to his legs and spine.

David Riella, joint owner of the Deganwy Hotel - or Deganwy Bed and Breakfast - pleaded guilty to three offences.  The owner of a hotel in a popular coastal resort has been ordered to pay nearly £10,000 after his premises failed to comply with fire safety regulations, putting visitors and guests at risk. David Riella, the joint owner of Deganwy Hotel, or Deganwy Bed and Breakfast, on Station Road in Looe, has been ordered to pay a total of £8,567 in fines and costs.

On Thursday 28 April, a case investigated by Thanet District Council’s Public Protection Team was heard at the Folkestone Magistrates’ Court, relating to an incident in August 2021.  It involved members of staff at Jewson Builders Merchants Yard in Margate. One employee received life-changing injuries while another received deep cuts and lacerations. 

An asbestos management company has been fined and two of its employees have been jailed for failing to protect workers from asbestos exposure during a major refurbishment project in Plymouth.  Chelmsford Crown Court heard that in February 2017, concerns were raised by workers at Ensure Asbestos Management Limited who believed they were being put in danger whilst carrying out refurbishment work at the former department store.

A skip hire company has been fined after an employee sustained crush injuries to his arm. An employee of Bateman Skips Ltd was asked to repair a conveyor belt feeding the picking station on 30 May 2018, Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard was told. He was injured when his arm was drawn into the mechanism whilst realigning the belt. The employee was rescued by the Fire & Rescue Service.

A Yorkshire property company has been fined £20,000 for failing to carry out safety and fire safety improvement works on a property in Kirkburn, Driffield after ignoring requests to do so by housing officers.  GAP Properties (Yorkshire) Ltd, which is based in Doncaster, was represented at Beverley Magistrates Court by director George Plant, who pleaded guilty on its behalf to two counts of failing to comply with improvement notices served under the Housing Act 2004.

Bulletin number: BSCD1-2022  Industry is alerted to a serious technical fault that HSE has found with mast climbing work platforms (MCWPs) used widely across construction projects. These can be used in other industries for access and to maintain large plant.  Platforms could fall from height where mechanical faults in drive units go undetected. If not rectified quickly, the fault could cause serious injury, or even death.

An engineering company specialising in the manufacture of containers and drums for the nuclear, aerospace and medical industries has been sentenced after a worker was fatally injured.  Preston Crown Court heard that on 21 May 2018, Whilst working at Graham Engineering’s site in Whitehalls Industrial Estate, Colin Willoughby was lying on his back, underneath the raised middle section of a Hugh Smith 1000 tonne capacity press, using a hand-held electric grinder to remove a weld from the base of a large metal piston. When the weld was removed, the internal ram fell through to the ground, crushing Mr Willoughby resulting in instant death.

The Firechief team explains why there are increasing concerns over lithium battery fires from items such as e-scooters, and advises on what to use if an incident were to occur.  Historically, the focus on significant causes of fires and deaths in the domestic environment has shifted between the decades. In the 1970s and 80s, emphasis was on the presence of paraffin heaters, electric blankets and most significantly, foam filled furniture in the home, while in the 1990s it was the lack of smoke alarms for early warning and the 2000s it was white goods, particularly tumble dryers. A number of these well-publicised risk factors have had a key part to play in the development of contemporary fire safety legislation.