During a March 2024 Multi Agency Road Safety Operation at the NEC, officers found a heavy goods vehicle carrying an excavator on an unnotified axle configuration, overweight, and oversized without additional safeguards. L Lynch Plant Hire and Haulage Ltd pleaded guilty to three offences, fined £800,000 plus £2,000 surcharge and £130 costs.
On 28 July 2021, a new employee hand-picking waste was struck and run over by a shovel loader, suffering fractures and nerve damage. HSE found no risk assessment, supervision or segregation of vehicles and pedestrians after the conveyor removal.
Wheeldon Brothers Waste Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and was fined £250,000 plus £4,102.32 costs.
Essex Trading Standards investigated after a shopper’s complaint in May 2023, finding hotplates with no UK plugs and “poor construction” that posed burn and shock risks. Safa Food 1 Ltd admitted 10 offences under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 and was fined £16,000 plus £11,853 costs. Magistrates ordered destruction of 69 remaining plates.
Mark Durham of Essex County Council thanked the “eagle-eyed” shopper, noting the hotplates presented serious safety risks.
In February 2022, work by S Wilks Roofing on garage roofs in Altrincham led to asbestos debris contaminating garages, residents’ gardens and personal belongings due to lack of control measures and safe waste storage. Wilks pleaded guilty to breaching asbestos regulations requiring planning and precautions, receiving a 12-month community order with 200 hours unpaid work and £3,582.13 costs.
HSE inspectors reminded duty holders to control risks for non-licensed asbestos work.
Industrial Chemicals Ltd pleaded guilty to incidents on 6 January and 29 August 2020 at its West Thurrock site, where poorly maintained pipework released 300,000 L of hydrochloric acid and 87 m³ of sulphuric acid, forming toxic vapour clouds. Schools closed and communities sheltered.
Joint HSE and Environment Agency investigations found failures in pipe maintenance, safety-critical valves and protective coatings, leading to £2.4 million fines under health and safety law and £100,000 under environmental permitting regulations.
Gill (St Ives) Holiday Enterprises admitted failures at Premier Apartments, Wharf Road, including inadequate fire doors, lighting, signage, and lack of fire risk assessment. The company pleaded guilty under the Fire Safety Order and Regulatory Reform Act, with sentencing due on 23 April 2025. The FIA warned all holiday let duty-holders to comply fully with fire safety laws.
Maciej Rozanski, who was 42, had been working to remove a redundant steel cleaning machine from the company’s Sovereign Works site on Deepdale Lane, on 29 June 2018. However, during the work, Mr Rozanski stepped onto a fragile roof and fell more than 20 feet to the floor below. He suffered serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Surface Technik (Old Hill) Limited, which is now in liquidation, was found guilty following a trial, while Robert Hammond had already entered a guilty plea, but disputed he was responsible for health and safety at the site.
The prosecution was brought following an investigation by the HSE, which found that the company began the work to remove the machinery in December 2017 and that project was led by Robert Hammond. The steel cleaning machine was housed in a corrugated steel tower on the side of the main production building which required partial dismantling in order to remove the machine. On the day of the incident, Mr Rozanski and another employee were tasked with the dismantling works. Once at the top of the tower they used an angle grinder to remove bolts holding the corrugated steel plates in place. It was during this activity that Mr Rozanski fell to his death.
There was no suitable and sufficient risk assessment made for the work at height activities. The work to remove corrugated steel sheets from the disused tower was carried out at height, near to a fragile roof surface without suitable access equipment or safe working practices. The work was not properly organised, planned, appropriately supervised or carried out in a safe manner and the employees were not trained for working at height when the incident occurred.
Surface Technik (Old Hill) Limited formerly of Deepdale Lane, Dudley was found guilty by a jury of a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £90,000 with costs £28,956.
Robert Hammond of Sutton Coldfield accepted that he did not take reasonable care for the health and safety of both employees when he pleaded guilty to breaching Section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Mr Hammond was fined £8,500 and ordered to pay the same amount in costs.
“Working from height remains a leading cause of workplace death and injury. This case highlights the risks of working at height from or near to fragile roof surfaces and the importance of a risk assessment, proper planning, training and supervision of work at height and the use of suitable access equipment to ensure that the work can be carried out safely. It also demonstrates that placing a company into liquidation is no bar to prosecution.”
Ms Yuting Zhuo was successfully prosecuted by the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service for breaching six charges under the Fire Safety Order.
Zhuo was company director of the Dragon and Peacock Chinese takeaway restaurant in Burgess Hill at the time the premises experienced a fire, caused by a faulty electrical supply, back in September 2023.
Four people were led to safety by firefighters after a member of the public made the 999 call. The rear of the building was significantly damaged.
At the hearing, it was established that Zhuo’s failings had led to an increased risk of death and serious injury to those residing at the premises. It was also unanimously agreed that those inside the building were fortunate that a member of the public notified West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service of the incident.
Zhuo was ordered to pay a total of £9,157.37, including prosecution costs and a victim surcharge.
“We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this case and believe it serves as a strong reminder to business owners – particularly so where sleeping accommodation is provided above commercial premises – that they must ensure those people are able to be alerted to the presence of fire and have suitable escape routes to safely and quickly evacuate the building. It’s only through luck that this fire did not have far more sinister consequences. Duty holders are reminded that the Fire Safety Order is in place to protect life in the event of a fire. As such, the highest sanctions possible will be sought where these failings endanger the lives of residents and visitors to West Sussex.”
The case was heard at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on 3 March 2025, culminating in the defendants, Mark Scott and Dezrene Judith Clarke, pleading guilty to breaches to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The court imposed fines of £1,200 each, along with a £480 legal surcharge and £1,500 in costs. The prosecution resulted from a series of inspections that uncovered serious safety concerns at the bakery, located at 8A Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London.
The council’s environmental health team visited the bakery on 9 July 2024 following a referral from the council’s Food Safety Team regarding an unsafe cooking appliance and dangerous electrics. The investigation revealed the use of a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cooking appliance inside the bakery, along with large amounts of stored bottled gas, which did not comply with safety standards. The owners had previously been instructed to stop using the equipment by another council enforcement officer 18 months earlier.
Concerns were raised about the unsafe gas cooking appliance which posed a fire and explosion risk, endangering both customers and the residents living in the accommodation above the bakery. Additionally, the council identified dangerous electrical sockets that could pose a significant hazard to staff and patrons. Despite previous warnings, the proprietors failed to take corrective action to make the premises safe, leading to legal proceedings by the council.
“This conviction sends a clear message that we will not tolerate businesses that neglect the safety of their employees and customers. Ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations is paramount, and we will take decisive action against those who fail in this duty. The safety of our residents is our top priority, and we will continue to enforce the law to protect them. It is critically important that gas appliances are installed correctly and undergo an annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Additionally, all electrics must be safely maintained and should be tested and inspected by a competent electrician every five years in commercial premises.”
David Lawrence, a 63-year-old engineer, was undertaking fault finding on a laser cutting machine for Pearson Hydraulics Ltd on 26 July 2023 when the cutting bed of the machine dropped and trapped both of his legs. After spending five weeks in hospital, Mr Lawrence had his right leg amputated above the knee and now faces possible loss of his left leg.
The HSE’s investigation found that Pearson Hydraulics Ltd did not have a safe system of work in place for maintenance activities at customer premises. It failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, did not monitor or supervise the work, and did not adequately train Mr Lawrence in hydraulic systems on laser cutting machinery.
Pearson Hydraulics Ltd of Electric Avenue, Witham St Hughes, Lincoln pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £96,333 and ordered to pay £10,701 in costs.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided with the correct risk assessment and implementation of a safe working procedure. Pearson Hydraulics Ltd left its employees to work out their own methods of completing fault finding and maintenance tasks, instead of providing them with suitable training and supervision so it could be done safely every time.”