The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Incidents prompt reminder on assessing safety risks
Appeal from HSE comes after two businesses are fined for breaches
Farmers have been urged to properly assess safety risks in their businesses following two incidents south of the border.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reminded producers of the importance of assessing risks when working with cattle or at height.
In the first case, a Shropshire dairy farm was fined after a farm worker was struck by a bull and suffered a serious leg injury.
Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court heard how the 28-year-old employee entered the shed in which the cows were kept to clear it out, when he was struck by a dairy bull at Moreton Hall Farm.
An investigation by the HSE found that a suitable bull pen, with means of restraint, was not provided on the farm to ensure workers did not have to enter an area occupied by the bull.
It also found that although the farm’s risk assessment identified a risk from the unrestrained bull, the farm failed to identify adequate controls.
The farm business – TN Beeston and Son, of Moreton Hall Farm, Morton Say, Market Drayton – pled guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,079.
HSE inspector Wendy Campbell said: “Farmers have a responsibility to assess risks from their cattle and provide suitable housing and handling facilities to ensure that bulls are excluded from areas where they or their employees work.
“Farm workers should never enter an enclosure when a bull is loose.”
Meanwhile, a Cheshire farming company was fined after a worker fell from a ladder and sustained significant injuries.
Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee was cleaning the gutters on a farm building when the ladder he was working on slipped down the face of the building.
He suffered a broken arm, shoulder and fractured elbow.
An HSE investigation found there were inadequate control measures in place for working at height, and the company failed to ensure there was appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision.
It also failed to report the accident within the required timeframe.
The business – Edge Farming Company of Wimboldsley Hall, Wimboldsley, Cheshire – pled guilty and was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,826.74.