FIA | A Warrington business owner has been fined after committing serious fire safety breaches.

Muhammad Wasim was prosecuted and ordered to pay £4,420, having continued to use a premises for residential purposes despite a Prohibition Notice issued by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Wasim was found guilty of breaching the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 by failing to meet his fire safety responsibilities and disregarding a legally-binding notice that prohibited the use of the building for sleeping or living accommodation.

The premises was first identified as a concern during a routine business safety engagement visit conducted by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, which subsequently prompted a full fire safety inspection. That inspection, undertaken in January 2023, highlighted multiple serious deficiencies. These included a lack of adequate separation between commercial and residential areas, insufficient fire detection and alarm coverage, compromised escape routes, and the absence of emergency lighting.

Given the severity of risk to life, a Prohibition Notice was issued, preventing the first floor from being used for sleeping or residential purposes. However, a follow-up visit in January 2024 found that the Notice had been ignored and that the premises continued to be used for accommodation. Further inspections confirmed that the previously identified fire safety failings had not been rectified.

Wasim was subsequently convicted under Article 32(2)(h) of the Fire Safety Order for failing to comply with a Prohibition Notice.

Kristian Clowes, Group manager for protection at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Our priority is to protect people from fire risk. We always aim to work with businesses to ensure properties are safe, but when individuals ignore our warnings and legal notices, we will take action. This prosecution sends a clear message that fire safety breaches will not be tolerated.”

HSE | A Yorkshire animal feed manufacturer has been fined £500,000 after a worker lost part of his foot when it was entangled in machinery.

William Thompson (York) Limited pleaded guilty after failing to prevent access to a rotating auger – a tool consisting of a central shaft with a blade wrapped around it – which is designed to transport excess feed away from a press.

The 41-year-old had been working as a supervisor at the company’s Jubilee Mill site in York on 14 November 2023. At the time of the incident, the man had been trying to resolve a maintenance issue with the machinery. However, he was able to open the press while its parts remained in operation at significant speed. His foot became entangled in the rotating auger and he sustained injuries so serious he remained in hospital for a period of six weeks.

The HSE’s investigation found that William Thompson (York) Limited failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery and also to carry out a suitable risk assessment of the work being done.

William Thompson (York) Limited, of Main Street, Malton, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc. 1974. The company was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay £4,455 in costs at York Magistrates court on 18 November 2025.

HSE Inspector Shauna Halstead said: “This company’s failures resulted in a man sustaining life-changing injuries. Too many workers are injured or killed every year because of failures to guard dangerous parts of machinery.

“Companies must implement safe working practices when carrying out maintenance operations. We will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all they should to keep people safe when working with machinery.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Arfaq Nabi and paralegal officer Sarah Thomas.

HSE | A film studio has been fined £6,000 after poor management of minor building works led to the disturbance of asbestos, putting employees at risk of exposure to asbestos fibres.

Maintenance staff at Elstree Film Studios in Borehamwood had been asked to remove acoustic wall panelling from one of the studio buildings in preparation for the replacement of the studio doors by an external contractor.

Employees were told that no asbestos was present and began dismantling the panels using claw hammers and crowbars on 22 July 2022.

Shortly after starting work, one employee identified a layer of insulation that he believed to be asbestos and immediately stopped. Subsequent testing confirmed the presence of asbestos – Amosite/Chrysotile and Crocidolite – which required licensed removal.

An investigation by the HSE found that neither the studio’s asbestos management surveys nor the specific refurbishment surveys had considered the wall surfaces within stages 7, 8, and 9.

As a result, the acoustic wall panelling dismantled by employees fell outside the scope of any assessment. The investigation also identified failings in training and inadequate emergency arrangements to deal with asbestos disturbance.

Elstree Film Studios Limited, of Civic Offices, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 5, 10 and 15 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The company was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £6,790 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.

HSE Inspector Stephen Manley said: “Poor management of asbestos can lead to workers being exposed to the harmful effects of asbestos. Those in control of buildings must ensure they have a suitable assessment in place, and those undertaking intrusive work should be provided with appropriate information – which, for this type of work, will often require a specific localised survey by a competent person.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski and Paralegal Officer Helen Hugo.

Facilities Management Journal | As businesses face increasing scrutiny over their environmental claims, a growing disconnect between corporate sustainability rhetoric and real-world action has been revealed in a new report.

Based on a global survey of 1,000 office workers and 200 facilities managers, it reveals that while sustainability is widely referenced in corporate communications, few organisations can demonstrate measurable impact.

Most initiatives are said to be superficial, with limited attention paid to the systems that drive emissions, such as lighting, heating, procurement and asset disposal.

The report highlights a growing trust gap. Facilities managers rated their offices eight out of ten for environmental performance, while employees gave just six out of ten.

The disconnect is fuelled by inconsistent practices and poor communication, from redundant laptops gathering dust due to data wiping concerns, to furniture still under warranty being dumped during cosmetic refurbishments.

FPA | The owner of a site that was providing accommodation above a Warrington barber shop, Muhammad Wasim, has been convicted of failing to comply with a notice prohibiting its residential use.

The two-storey mid-terraced property was initially flagged during a routine Business Safety engagement visit by CFRS and a full fire safety inspection was then ordered. During this inspection, CFRS officers found serious fire safety deficiencies, including: 

  • Inadequate separation between the commercial and residential areas.
  • Insufficient fire detection and alarm systems.
  • Compromised escape routes and lack of emergency lighting. 

As a result of these findings, a Prohibition Notice was served, banning the use of the first floor for residential accommodation purposes. 

However, a visit by CFRS in January 2024 found that people were still being allowed to live and sleep on the first floor of the building and that the identified fire safety issues had not been resolved. 

CFRS issued prosecution proceedings against Mr Wasim for breaching the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 by failing to comply with fire safety duties and ignoring the Prohibition Notice. Evidence of non-compliance from CFRS and Warrington Borough Council was presented to Warrington Magistrates Court, including photographs, officer witness statements, and documentation. 

Mr Wasim, of Lovely Lane, Whitecross, Warrington, was subsequently found guilty at Warrington Magistrates Court and was ordered to pay £4,420. 

Speaking after the successful case, CFRS Group manager for Protection, Kristian Clowes said: “Our priority is to protect people from fire risk. We always aim to work with businesses to ensure properties are safe, but when individuals ignore our warnings and legal notices, we will take action. 

“This prosecution sends a clear message that fire safety breaches will not be tolerated.” 

HSE | A Staffordshire-based home improvement company has been fined £16,500 after a worker sustained serious injuries when he fell from height whilst carrying out gutter replacement work.

On 12 November 2025 the worker had been tasked with replacing guttering on a domestic garage building in Hednesford on 12 August 2024. He had not been given any instructions on how to carry out the work safely and had not been told that a shed was restricting access to some parts of the guttering.

Whilst reaching from his position on the shed to the last gutter bracket, the worker fell approximately 7 feet to the ground below. The fall resulted in serious injuries, including fractures to his shoulder, upper arm, eye socket and nose.

The HSE’s investigation found that the company, Goliath Home World Limited, failed to properly plan the work, put in place measures to prevent or protect against a fall from height, or provide adequate information and instruction to its worker.

Goliath Home World Limited of Goliath House, Navigation Way, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 7XU, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £16,500 with a victim surcharge of £2000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,994.55.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector, Rob Gidman, said: “This incident highlights the importance of undertaking a thorough assessment of the risks for all work at height activities and ensuring that suitable control measures are implemented. Had the work been properly planned and suitable work equipment provided, this incident would not have happened.”

The HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer, Arfaq Nabi.

Environment Agency | A recycling company has been prosecuted for breaking an environmental permit requiring it to keep all waste within its site boundary.

At Nottingham Magistrates Court, Johnsons Aggregates and Recycling Ltd of Crompton Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, were fined £40,000 and ordered to pay costs of £49,886.75.

The company had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing on 19 July 2025 to breaching the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

The court was told the Environment Agency started monitoring sites in March 2021 at Hallam Fields Industrial Estate, Ilkeston, due to complaints about dust, odour, and noise.

Officers attended land adjacent to the defendant company’s land, they discovered that a large amount of waste material was on the land. The waste was a type of ash which is commonly used as an aggregate in construction.

Company officials said that the land was owned by someone else and was in the early stages of being developed. They also said that waste on the land had been placed there with the landowner’s permission and for the landowner’s use.

However, the company later accepted that it had made mistakes in dealing with waste and that it had breached its permit by placing the waste on the land.

The Environment Agency issued a compliance assessment report requiring the company to operate within the boundary of the permit.

The officers returned to the site on 11 May 2021 where they observed that large amounts of waste remained on site. Company officials said the waste had accumulated and had been more difficult to dispose of due to COVID-19.

The company was told to remove the ash from the land by 3 January 2022.

Officers visited the land on 4 January 2022 and found that the mounds of waste, though reduced in size, were still being stored and covered approximately five acres.

HSE | Skyladder Construction Limited has been fined £33,500 after a man died when he fell through a skylight opening at a domestic property.

The company was constructing a single-storey extension with a flat roof at a property in Farnborough. On the evening of 20 July 2022, it began to rain, and the company director and an employee returned to the site at approximately 11pm to cover the new roof with a blue plastic tarpaulin, securing it with logs of wood.

Bhakta Rai accompanied the employee to the site that evening. At some point, Mr Rai went onto the roof to assist and fell through a hole intended for a skylight, falling approximately 2.5 metres onto the concrete floor below.

In an attempt to recover Mr Rai, he was lifted back through the roof opening, carried across the roof, and then brought down a ladder at the front of the property. No ambulance was called, and Mr Rai was transported to hospital in a van. He died a few days later after sustaining significant injuries, including a spinal fracture, fractured skull, possible bleed on the brain, and swelling to the head.

The HSE attended the scene on 21 July 2022. Between the police leaving the site (at around 4am) and the HSE’s arrival later that day, the tarpaulin had been replaced, covering the roof.

An HSE investigation found that Skyladder Construction Limited failed to take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as was reasonably practicable, any person from falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. There were no physical measures in place at the edges of the building or around the skylight openings to prevent a fall, and no measures to mitigate the distance or impact of a fall.

Skyladder Construction Limited also contravened a requirement imposed by an HSE inspector. During the investigation, the HSE requested information from the company under Section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which it is an offence not to provide. No response was received.

Skyladder Construction Limited, of 8 Harbour Close, Farnborough, GU14 8HT, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Section 33(1)(e) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for failing to provide information requested under Section 20 of the Act.

The company was fined £33,500, ordered to pay £8,472 in costs, and a £2,000 victim surcharge at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on 31 October 2025.

Following the hearing, HSE Inspector Jenny Morris said: “Falls when working at height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality, accounting for around a quarter of all worker deaths. In this case, this was a wholly avoidable incident — Mr Rai died in a fall which should never have been able to happen.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE Enforcement Lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and Paralegal Officer Helen Hugo.

HSE | A plastics conversion company based in Derbyshire has been fined £277,500 after an employee sustained fatal injuries when he became trapped in the moving parts of an unguarded machine.

Paul Whalley, 46, was employed by Reflex Flexible Packaging Ltd at their factory on Amber Drive, Langley Mill, when the incident occurred.

On 29 May 2020, Mr. Whalley entered an opening in the side of a plastic conversion machine that permitted whole-body access to dangerous moving parts. The area contained several unguarded mechanisms, and Mr. Whalley became trapped in the machine.

Despite efforts by the emergency services, including cutting conveyor belts and rollers to free him, he died at the scene from crush asphyxia.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Reflex Flexible Packaging Ltd failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for operation of the machine.

The company had not installed appropriate guarding to prevent access to dangerous parts and had no written safe systems of work or isolation procedures in place.

HSE guidance states that employers must take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery.

This typically involves fixed guarding, but where routine access is required, interlocked guards may be needed to stop movement before a person can reach the danger zone.

Reflex Flexible Packaging Ltd, of Hamilton Way, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

The company was fined £277,500 and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs at Derby Crown Court.

HSE | A care home company has been fined over £1.8 million after a resident choked on a piece of food while consuming her evening meal alone in her room.

Elizabeth Campbell (known as Peggy) was a 96-year-old resident of Cradlehall Care Home in Inverness. She was on a specialist diet of soft, moist, and bite-sized food and her care plan stated that she should be closely supervised when eating and drinking.

The Court heard that on 11 June 2022, the unit where Peggy resided was staffed by two agency carers who were responsible for twelve residents. At about 5.45pm, Peggy was served a meal of macaroni and chips while sitting up in bed.

One of the carers left to get a drink to accompany her meal but was then forced to deal with urgent issues with two other residents which required her to call for assistance from another unit. As a result of this disruption the resident was left on her own for up to 20 minutes by the time the carer returned to her room with the drink.

The carer raised the alarm, and other staff came to assist. A paramedic arrived shortly afterwards and the woman was pronounced dead.

An investigation by the HSE concluded that Peggy’s death was caused by the fact the company had failed to ensure that all those working in the home had access to and were familiar with the care plans of its residents and that crucially Peggy had been left unsupervised while eating.

Following the investigation, HSE took action against the company, with improvements later being made to ensure there was a “skills mix” during shifts, ensuring any agency staff were always assisted by regular employees, who were more aware of the needs of the home’s residents.

HC-One Limited, who run the care home, pleaded guilty to failings under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £1.8 million at Inverness Sheriff Court.

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