HSE/NW/120/06. GNN142468P. 22 December 2006

Droylsden food manufacturer pays £65,000 after forklift truck accident

Companies are today reminded of the dangers forklift trucks can pose in the work place after the near fatal injury of an employee.

Droylsden company, Centura Foods Ltd, part of the RHM Group, was yesterday fined a total of £60,000 and ordered to pay £5,724 costs at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.

Centura Food Ltd pleaded guilty to two criminal charges brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an accident involving a forklift truck at its premises at Fitzroy Street, Droylsden, Manchester.

On 3 May 2005 employee Margaret Shaw (age 59) was hit by a reversing forklift truck in a warehouse on site and suffered severe injuries to her left leg and ankle.

"Mrs Shaw is very lucky not to have been killed, " says HSE Inspector Jackie Darby, who took the case. "Forklift trucks and pedestrians should always be kept apart as far as possible. They are extremely heavy vehicles and can cause severe injuries. This is a particularly disappointing case since the company failed to take effective action despite several warnings from employees about the risks to pedestrians in the warehouse from forklift trucks."

Centura Foods pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 17 of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations, which require the organisation of traffic movements within premises so that pedestrians and vehicles can circulate in a safe manner and to a breach of Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, which require employers to undertake suitable and sufficient risk assessments.

Notes to editors

1. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, Regulation 17(1) states: "Every workplace shall be organised in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles can circulate in a safe manner."
2. The Management of Health and Safety At Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3(1)(a) states: "Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of - (a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work;"
3. Maximum penalty in a Crown Court for breaches of health and safety legislation is an unlimited fine for each offence.

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