Welcome to HSE prosecutions in brief. An overview of this weeks prosecutions by the HSE.

This post will start at the beginning of each week and will be updated throughout the week. Any comments are welcome.

Unregistered gas engineer
A Shropshire man has been sentenced for carrying out gas work at an elderly couple’s home without being Gas Safe registered.

James Alexander Dunsmore, of Bridge Street, Bridgnorth pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998. The court imposed a 12-month community order, in which he must complete 120 hours’ unpaid work, and he was ordered to pay £750 compensation to the householder.
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Worker sustained serious hand injury
Cardiff-based steel company Celsa Manufacturing (UK) Ltd has been fined after a worker sustained a serious hand injury while operating machinery at its city centre plant.

The company of Castle Works, East Moors Road, Cardiff pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £10,715 in costs.
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11-year-old girl thrown from a ride
A fairground operator has been fined after an 11-year-old girl suffered a serious head wound when she was thrown from a ride at a Birmingham park.

Mr Robert Wilkinson, of Lime Lane, Pelsall, Walsall, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £2,708 costs.
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Worker killed and another injured in falls
A Nottingham firm has been fined after one of its workers was killed and another injured in two separate falls.

Central (High Rise) Ltd pleaded guilty to one charge in relation to the death of Mr Brian Collins, 52, from Mansfield and one charge in relation to the incident at Nottingham Castle. The company was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £32,000 costs.
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Man trapped under stone slabs
A granite business and one of its directors has been fined after a man was trapped under a two-and-a-half tonne pack of stone slabs while unloading a truck in Hillingdon, London.

Mr Monzer Mahmoud Alrayes of 53 Lancaster Road, Northolt pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety etc. at Work Act 1974. He was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,079.

M & R Granite and Marble Ltd of Unit 20, Brook Industrial Estate, Hayes, Hillingdon, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety etc. at Work Act 1974. The firm was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,079.
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Man electrocuted while working on farmland
A farming company has been fined after a man was electrocuted while working on farmland near Ludgershall in Wiltshire.

Velcourt Limited, of The Veldt House, Much Marcle, Ledbury, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £45,000.
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Putting staff at risk when working at height
A Leamington Spa clutch manufacturer has been fined for putting its staff at risk when working at height.

Raicam Clutch Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (as amended) and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £4,952 costs.
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Triple prosecution after construction death
Fines totalling £18,700 have been handed down after a foreman died when an excavator bucket filled with concrete fell on him at a London construction site.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Hydro Plant Ltd, the plant hire company which had provided the excavator and Michael Cunningham, the excavator operator, for safety breaches after the August 2007 incident

Hydro Plant Ltd, of Wadsworth Close, Greenford, Brent pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £7,000 ordered to pay costs of £10,000

Michael Denis Cunningham, of Latimer Road, Eastbourne pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was fined £700 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000

Euro Earthworks Ltd, of Boston Manor, Brentford, Hounslow is charged with breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Euro Earthworks Ltd will be tried in its absence at the City of London Magistrates’ Court on 7 July 2011.

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Middlewich roofer fined after employee put at risk
A Middlewich roofer has been fined £260 after one of his workers was spotted power washing the sloping roof of a semi-detached house without anything in place to stop him falling off the slippery surface.

Mr Boswell of Booth Lane, Moston, Middlewich pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He was fined £260 and ordered to pay £3,275 in costs.

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Sussex chemical company fined after serious spill
A chemical company has been fined £150,000 after a tank collapsed, releasing a large amount of waste solvents and water at a chemical plant in Rye, East Sussex.

Solvent Resource Management Ltd of Hanson House, Castle Hill, Maidenhead, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to Regulation 4 of the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999. The company was fined £150,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,000.

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Paper firm fined after worker suffers severe hand injuries
A paper firm has been fined £15,000 after a Derbyshire worker suffered severe and permanent hand injuries.

The Crimped Paper Works Limited, of Chapel-en-le-Frith, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £3,956.

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