Industry news
Neales gets £15,000 fine after fall
Posted Fri, 09 Dec 2011
Blackburn magistrates have fined a waste collection company £15,000 after a worker fell from a collection vehicle.
Neales Waste Management Ltd, of Walker Road in Guide, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 because it did not make sure its employees were safe. The firm was also ordered to pay £11,661 in costs.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against the company after the 44-year-old man from Blackburn fell from the top of the truck to the ground four metres below.
The court was told that the worker wanted to remove waste from the truck's roof when the incident happened at Walker Industrial Park in Guide on September 7 last year.
An investigation by the HSE found workers at Neales had permission to use metal bars to get to the roof, even though they were not built for the purpose.
Copyright © Press Association 2011