Risk assessment 'would have prevented worker's death'

A Pontllanfraith company has been fined £5,000 as a result of an accident that led to the death of a member of staff.

Gareth Young, a 60-year-old grandfather from Beaufort in Ebbw Vale, was killed when he was crushed by falling machinery at the site of IMCO Limited, trading as Moulded Paper, on the Newbridge Road Industrial Estate.

Following an investigation into the accident, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the company and it has since gone into liquidation, before being found guilty of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones ordered the firm to pay costs of more than £30,000 and noted the level of the fine should not be deemed to be representative of the seriousness of the incident.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Trevor Hay described the death of Mr Young as "tragic" and said it could have been avoided if health and safety standards had been upheld at the facility.

He said: "This fatality shows the importance of carrying out thorough risk assessments of the working environment, especially following any major changes."

Mr Hay added a risk assessment conducted at the location would have found the stability of the electrical cabinet was a problem and the death of Mr Young may not have happened.

It had been propped up against a wall beforehand and was unsecured.

When Mr Young attempted to remove steel sheets from the cabinet, which weighed half a tonne, it fell on him and caused fatal injuries.

This comes shortly after a bakery in the south of England was prosecuted after an accident that led to a member of staff suffering crush injuries to their hand after getting it caught in the machinery they were operating.

HSE's inspector Craig Varian said the incident could have been a lot worse.