A farming company has been fined £120,000 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the safety of one of its workers. Salisbury Crown Court heard how Edward Pybus, 21, from Northallerton in Yorkshire, was harvesting crops at Chute Farm, Upper Chute on 6 August 2007 when he received a fatal electric shock.
The combine harvester Mr Pybus was driving had a problem with the grain discharge spout and so it was left extended while he was cropping a field. During cropping, the harvester had picked up stones and soil. Mr Pybus stopped the machine in order to clear it, not realising the grain spout was touching one of the power lines. As Mr Pybus got out of the harvester and stepped onto the ground, he received a fatal shock of 6,300 volts.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Velcourt Ltd had failed to adequately inspect, monitor, supervise or audit health and safety management. HSE inspector, Liam Osborne, said, "The HSE traced the root causes of this terrible incident to basic failures in Velcourt's safety management system. At no stage during the selection of their combines did Velcourt ask what the risk would be of touching overhead lines. Velcourt's farm contract manager was given inadequate safety training, particularly in identifying hazards, and what measures to take to reduce them. There was little to no review or monitoring of how well Velcourt were managing the substantial risks farmers face in the high-pressure work of harvesting."
As well as being fined £120,000 for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Velcourt Limited of Ledbury were also ordered to pay costs of £45,000.
