© Colin Horne/Manchester Evening News
A facilities management company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker was crushed between a ride-on-roller and a vehicle container.
On 30 November 2018, an employee of Totally Local Company was attempting to lock up the shipping container at Abney Hall Country Park in Stockport, which was being used during footpath improvement works.
A colleague driving the roller, (pictured above), reversed into him, crushing him between the vehicle and the container. The worker sustained a collapsed lung and various broken bones requiring multiple surgeries.
HSE investigators revealed that the company had no traffic management plan in place. The traffic routes used were unsuitable and vehicles were not adequately separated from pedestrians, posing risk to both workers and the general public as the park remained open during the works.
At Manchester Magistrates’ Court, Totally Local Company admitted breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8367.
'Those in control of work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to their workers in the safe system of working,' said HSE inspector Rebecca Hamer.