Worksop man fined after death of worker

Date:

17 April 2012

Release No:

17 April 2012

A Worksop man has been fined after an employee was crushed to death when a tractor overturned and landed on him.

Christopher Fox, 60, from Osberton near Worksop, was killed instantly when the tractor overturned during a tree felling operation. Mr Fox was standing by the tractor which was being used to control the direction of the falling tree as it was being felled. However, the tree fell in an unexpected direction and overturned the tractor, crushing Mr Fox.

The incident happened on 4 November 2009 at Hodsock Forest Farm, Blyth Road in the town. Mr Fox was employed by the GMT Foljambe 1996 Discretionary Trust, on the Osberton estate, of which defendant George Michael Thornhagh Foljambe is a trustee.

After a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation Mr Foljambe of Mill Farm, Osberton, was prosecuted at Nottingham Crown Court for failing to ensure Mr Fox's safety and failing to ensure he had received adequate training in the equipment he was using.

Mr Foljambe, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Yesterday (Monday, 16 April), he was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £20,327.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector David Butter said:

"Felling trees is a high risk activity and anyone engaged in such activities needs to have had sufficient training for the task being undertaken and be provided with appropriate tools to enable them to carry out the task safely.

"These employees had not been trained to carry out felling on this size of tree and were using inappropriate tools to assist them, which has unfortunately resulted in a death of a husband and father."

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice; promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice; and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states: It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.
3. Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 states: Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken.
4. Visit here: www.hse.gov.uk/falls for more guidance on working at height.

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