The organisers of the Kendal Calling festival have been fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 in costs at Carlisle Crown Court after admitting to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Donald Berry was operating a crane to manoeuvre a portable building when his crane hit a live cable, giving Mr Berry an 11,000 volt electric shock. The accident left Mr Berry with brain damage.
Earlier this month, safety firm Piper Event Services Ltd, which was hired to assess safety at the festival, was accused of failing to issue proper warnings about the cable. However, the trial heard that Kendal Calling had given the company "limited instructions" because they wanted to save on the expense of paying for a comprehensive health and safety plan. Piper events was found not guilty of a safety breach.
A statement from Kendal Calling said, "Since the incident on-site, we have brought all health and safety management in-house and appointed an industry-leading events production company."
However, Eden Council's environmental health officer Elaine Lowmas said, "Mr Berry's family will be very disappointed by the fine, obviously he suffered very serious injuries and will have to live with these injuries for the rest of his life."
