A cider manufacturer has been fined £1.4 million after a grandad was killed on his 65th birthday.
The man was driving for H Weston and Sons Limited, the manufacturer of Henry Westons Cider, when he was killed by the end of a security barrier on 28 September 2020.
The van was being driven out of the firm's site at Bounds Farm when the end of a security barrier speared through the vehicle's windshield and fatally crushed the employee.
The man was a farm manager at H Weston and Sons Limited and had started working at the company in 2008.
A Healthy and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found H Weston and Sons had installed the barrier a month earlier, and failed to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. The company also failed to implement a safe system of work to ensure the barrier could be secured safely when open and closed.
H Weston and Sons Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations SI 1999/3242 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £1.4 million and ordered to pay £26,756.50 in costs.
HSE inspector Sara Lumley said: "Horizontal barriers can be dangerous – but deaths are extremely preventable. The guidance for those operating barriers like this at car parks is clear and it’s vital to make sure the barriers are adequately secured at all times whether open or shut".
For more information on this subject, see:
