East Yorkshire company fined £560k after worker’s arm severed

An animal feed company in East Yorkshire has been fined £566,000 after an employee’s arm was severed in a machine.

AB Agri Limited, which has premises in Fridaythorpe, near Driffield, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws after blender operative Bartosz Gaj, 34, lost his right arm below the elbow in November 2021.

Mr Gaj had been working to clear a blockage when his hand was pulled into a conveyor belt mechanism.

Magistrates in Hull also ordered the firm to pay costs of £6,410 at a hearing on 5 March.

Sally Gay, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said the life-changing injury could have been avoided if the correct control measures and safe working practices had been applied.

“Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards,” she added.

Mr Gaj had only been working at AB Agri for a few months when the incident happened. He was unable to return to work for more than two years.

HSE found that the conveyor had been installed a few months before the incident and had been prone to blockages.

Workers would clear blockages themselves if this could be done quickly, even though they had not been trained properly, an investigation found.

In addition, a risk assessment had not been reviewed after the new conveyer was installed and there was no system for checking safety features were in place before it was used.

Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.