HSE | A manufacturer of rolled aluminium products has been fined £300,000 after a worker was crushed under a 1.5-tonne hydraulic arm at its site in Bridgnorth.

The man, in his early 40s, was working underneath the arm when it failed, resulting in life-changing crush injuries. He had been working for Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited at its site in the town when the incident happened on 10 May 2023.

He had been carrying out preparation work for the casting of aluminium blocks from molten aluminium. He was kneeling inside a casting mould, wearing heat resistant clothing, to insert ceramic string around its edges. The hydraulic launder arm above the mould, which is used to transport molten metal around the foundry, suddenly fell onto him. It is believed the exterior temperature of the launder arm was around 100°C.

The falling arm crushed him and narrowly missed another worker. The man was trapped for three minutes before the floor of the mould was lowered to release the pressure. However, it was a further 19 minutes before the hydraulic arm could be lifted to allow recovery.

The incident and the injuries sustained by the individual have had a dramatic impact on his day-to-day life and he has not been able to return to work.

The HSE’s investigation found that the arm fell as a result of hydraulic failure. While there was a safety bar intended to prevent the arm from falling, it was not fit for purpose. Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited had not assessed the risks of the hydraulic arm falling and therefore failed to implement a suitable safe system of work to prevent employees from working beneath it.

Bridgnorth Aluminium Limited of Stourbridge Road, Bridgnorth, pleaded guilty breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £8,301 in costs.

HSE inspector Nicola Willcox said: “This was a serious incident that should never have happened.

“The company subsequently implemented simple control measures to prevent it from re-occurring. The process of placing the ceramic string in the moulds is now carried out with the hydraulic arm in the lowered position, and people are restricted from walking under the it when it is raised.

“If these measures had been in place at the time, then this incident would not have happened.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Edward Parton and paralegal officer Jason Dix. The investigation was supported by Natalka Heath, HSE Visiting Officer.

HSE | A self-employed builder from Reading has been given a suspended prison sentence after a man fell to his death while assisting with roof work.

Raffaele Vigliotti, 68, who was trading as Absolute Building Solutions, was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, after the death of Andrew Layley. The 69-year-old, an acquaintance of Vigliotti, was helping with roof work as part of an extension to a domestic property in the town.

It was during this work on 8 April 2023 that Mr Layley fell and sustained serious head injuries. He died in hospital several weeks later.

Mr Layley, from Reading, was married with three grown up children and had a love of cats. His wife of nearly 40 years and children massively feel the loss of their “caring” husband and dad, saying his loss has left a huge hole in their lives.

Investigating, the HSE found that Vigliotti failed to put in place suitable measures to protect both Mr Layley and another worker while they were working at height. The measures that were used were to either prevent or control a fall or mitigate the consequence of a fall.

Mr Vigliotti of The Hedges, Bath Road, Padworth, Reading, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was given an eight-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work within the next 18 months and to pay a victim surcharge.

HSE inspector Nicola Pinckney said: “Every year, a significant proportion of incidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur as a result of unsuitable or absent measures to protect workers from falls from height.

“This was a wholly avoidable incident, and if consideration had been given to the well-known risks of working at height, and suitable, readily available controls been put in place, this incident could have been avoided.

“Due to Vigliotti’s failures, a family has been left without a much loved husband and dad.

“The penalty imposed on Mr Vigliotti will hopefully serve to highlight to others the importance of taking this risk seriously and ensuring they protect their workers from this risk.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and paralegal Officer Helen Hugo.

HSE | A waste management company has been fined £2.48 million after a worker was run over by a reversing skip wagon at a waste transfer station in Bradford.

James Tabiri, 57, was working as a sort line operative at Biffa Waste Services Ltd’s waste transfer site in Bradford. On 10 August 2023, while making his way to the site office across the weighbridge, he was struck from behind by a reversing skip wagon. The impact caused him to fall, and he died from crush injuries from the rear wheels.

The HSE’s investigation found that Biffa Waste Services Ltd failed to effectively review and monitor the control measures in place to protect pedestrians and keep them separate from vehicle movements.

CCTV footage from the week before the incident showed that it was common practice for people on site to bypass segregated pedestrian routes, with some seen climbing over barriers that were intended to keep them safe.

Biffa Waste Services Ltd, of Coronation Road, Cressex, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The company was fined £2.48 million and ordered to pay full costs of £5,768.06.

Following the hearing, HSE inspector Elliot Archer said: “This incident was easily avoidable. Control measures were in place to allow pedestrians and vehicles to move safely, but a lack of monitoring and supervision allowed poor working practices to develop between the workers on site.

“Our investigation found a casual attitude to health and safety with workers treating a high hazard site like a playground.

“Nearly a quarter of all deaths involving workplace transport occur during reversing manoeuvres.

“This tragic incident should be a reminder to the waste industry not to become complacent with the risks workplace transport poses, and that even where control measures are in place to segregate pedestrians and vehicles, robust monitoring and supervision of their correct usage need to be in place.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Arfaq Nabi and paralegal officer Melissa Wardle.

BBC News | People should plan for potential cyber-attacks by going back to pen and paper, according to the latest advice.

The UK Government has written to chief executives across the country strongly recommending that they should have physical copies of their plans at the ready as a precaution.

A recent spate of hacks has highlighted the chaos that can ensue when hackers take computer systems down.

The warning comes as the National Cyber-Security Centre (NCSC) reported an increase in nationally significant attacks this year.

Organisations need to “have a plan for how they would continue to operate without their IT, (and rebuild that IT at pace), were an attack to get through,” said Richard Horne, chief executive of the NCSC.

Firms are being urged to look beyond cyber-security controls toward a strategy known as “resilience engineering,” which focuses on building systems that can anticipate, absorb, recover, and adapt, in the event of an attack.

Plans should be stored in paper form or offline, the agency suggests and include information about how teams will communicate without work email and other analogue work arounds.

These types of cyber attack contingency plans are not new but it’s notable that the UK’s cyber authority is putting the advice prominently in its annual review.

Although the total number of hacks that the NCSC dealt with in the first nine months of 2025 was, at 429, roughly the same as for a similar period in 2024, there was an increase in hacks with a bigger impact.

The number of “nationally significant” incidents represented nearly half, or 204, of all incidents. In 2024, only 89 were in that category.

A nationally significant incident covers cyber-attacks in the three highest categories in the NCSC and UK law enforcement categorisation model:

  • Category 1: National cyber-emergency.
  • Category 2: Highly significant incident.
  • Category 3: Significant incident.
  • Category 4: Substantial incident.
  • Category 5: Moderate incident.
  • Category 6: Localised incident.

Amongst 2025’s incidents, 4% (18) were in the second highest category “highly significant.”

This marks a 50% increase in such incidents, an increase for the third consecutive year.

The NCSC would not give details on which attacks, either public or undisclosed, fall into which category.

The vast majority of attacks are financially motivated with criminal gangs using ransomware or data extortion to blackmail a victim into sending Bitcoins in ransom.

Whilst most cyber-crime gangs are headquartered in Russian or former Soviet countries, there has been a resurgence in teenage hacking gangs thought to be based in English-speaking countries.

As well as the advice over heightened preparations and collaboration, the government is asking organisations to make better use of the free tools and services offered by the NCSC, for example free cyber-insurance for small businesses that have completed the popular Cyber-Essentials programme.

Environment Agency | The EA has successfully prosecuted a Derbyshire man who must pay nearly £37,000 in fines and costs for operating waste sites illegally.

At Wolverhampton Crown Court, Thomas Reilly, 74, of Mill Acre Close, Ilkeston, Derby, was sentenced after previously pleading guilty to four offences, two under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and two under the Environment Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

These offences were for operating sites without the necessary environmental permits and illegally depositing waste on land between 2016 and 2023.

He was fined a total of £19,248, ordered to pay costs of £17,500 and a victim surcharge of £120.

The court heard that Reilly traded as Tom/Thomas Reilly Groundworks.

He admitted operating an illegal waste site at Top Farm, Barton Lane, Barton-in-Fabis near Nottingham between 2016 and 2021, where he deposited 180 tonnes of inert soil without an environmental permit.

The investigation by the Environment Agency included a drone survey at Top Farm.

The aerial images revealed a variety of waste materials were being stored including black bin bags, bricks, concrete, wooden fence or shed panels, and green waste.

A report by the team said it appeared to be a landfill site without the necessary permissions or environmental protection infrastructure. This would include impermeable lining plus leachate and gas extraction.

It was accepted that the defendant was not responsible for all the waste deposited at this site. But he admitted that he had left his digger there for considerable periods of time.

Reilly also admitted operating an illegal waste site on land at Oxton Road in Southwell between 2020 and 2021. He imported, deposited and disposed of eight lorry loads of waste soils without an environmental permit.

The court was told that Environment Agency officers had spotted Reilly’s lorry leaving land on Oxton Road.

An inspection revealed that six deep pits had been dug in the ground plus a stable block filled with white goods including fridges and bags containing books and magazines.

The defendant stated the waste was imported as finishing and levelling works to fill holes that had been dug on the land by persons unknown.

Between April and July 2023, the defendant unlawfully deposited 160 tonnes of waste soil on a parcel of land at Winking Hill, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Leics.

In April 2023, the landowner found deposits of waste and began monitoring the site. In July 2023, the landowner approached the defendant who admitted being responsible.

In September 2023, the defendant was witnessed by Environment Agency officers to reverse into open fields at Flawforth Lane, Ruddington, Notts, and to empty his lorry load.

Checks established that there was no permit or exemption in place to deposit such waste soil.

In mitigation, it was pointed out the defendant was a man of clean character.

Despite these offences he had provided the court with documentary proof of legal deposits of waste at regulated facilities throughout the period of offending.

HSE | A Middlesbrough man has been given a suspended prison sentence after carrying out illegal gas work.

The HSE’s investigation found Neil Burton carried out boiler services in a home in Stockton-on-Tees on two occasions, in May 2021 and April 2022. Although Burton had previously been on the Gas Safe Register, he had allowed his membership and qualifications to lapse. A subsequent review of the boiler identified defects, which meant it was classed as a risk and a danger.

Burton, 41, also carried out work at a house in Middlesbrough in September 2022 and October 2023. These works included disconnecting a gas hob and installing a new one, as well as disconnecting a gas fire. As he had done previously, he carried out this work while not registered to do so. He had also been subject of previous action taken by HSE, when carrying out illegal gas work in 2015.

Neil Burton, of Harrogate Crescent, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(1) and 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Darian Dundas said: ““All gas work must be carried out by registered Gas Safe engineers to ensure the highest standards are met and to prevent injury or loss of life.

“The public should always ask to see a gas engineer’s identification and check their registration number online.”

HSE | A Worcester-based waste and recycling company has been fined £160,000 after a loading shovel bucket fell onto a maintenance worker.

Blackpole Recycling Limited was prosecuted by the HSE following the incident at its site on Blackpole Trading Estate West in Worcester.

Mr Andrew Taylor, a father of two from Worcester, was fixing a hydraulic leak on the loading shovel when the vehicle’s bucket fell on him. He was airlifted to hospital where he required three operations. His crush injuries included fractures to his ribs, leg, foot and pelvis, which were shattered into three pieces.

Speaking about the incident, Mr Taylor said: “I remember being in the emergency room with 15 doctors and nurses, and my wife. The nurse told me not to worry but I was worried about the here and now. Prior to the accident I used to go to the gym and go running, but since the accident I can’t even get up the stairs.”

The HSE’s investigation found that Blackpole Recycling Limited had failed to undertake a risk assessment for the maintenance activity and had not devised a safe system of work. The company also failed to provide adequate information, instruction and training to Mr Taylor.

Blackpole Recycling Limited, of Thorneloe House, 25 Barbourne Road, Worcester, Worcestershire, England, WR1 1RU, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay £7,049 in costs and a victim’s surcharge of £2,000.

HSE Inspector Charlie Rowe, who led the investigation, said: “This incident could and should have been prevented. Had a safe system of work been in place, Mr Taylor would not have sustained these serious, life-changing injuries.

“The absence of an appropriate risk assessment, method statement, training and supervision for this maintenance task created a scenario where someone could easily have been killed.

“Employers must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the safety of their employees. Where they fail to do so, HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action.”

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Matthew Reynolds and paralegal officer Jason Dix.

HSE | A manufacturing company has been fined £240,000 after a grandfather was killed by a reversing HGV in Birmingham.

David Saint worked as an engineering manager at Northwood Consumer Limited, at its site in Electra Park, Electric Avenue.

The 61-year-old, from Spalding in Lincolnshire, was walking across the service road on the shared industrial estate on 19 October 2023, when the reversing HGV collided with him.

An investigation by the HSE found that Northwood Consumer Limited failed to:

• Undertake a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks associated with workplace transport.
• Address the movement of HGVs in its site rules.
• Eliminate, as far as possible, the need for HGVs to reverse.
• Provide any aids or assistance to HGVs that had to be reversed.
• Display any signage to warn of the hazards arising from the movement of HGVs.
• Control when HGVs would access the site.

Northwood Consumer Limited of Northwood House, Stafford Park 10, Telford, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £240,000 and ordered to pay £6,917 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 6 October 2025.

Mr Saint leaves behind his wife, Cassandra, his children Samantha and Adam, his grandchildren, Jake and Ava, as well as his father, Terry, and siblings, Paul, Kim and Michael.

His daughter, Samantha, said: “He was my everything, there was nothing he wasn’t involved in.

“My life now consists of ‘what would dad do?’ I think of him and miss him every day.”

Mr Saint’s son Adam added: “I just miss my dad being there. I miss the conversations that we used to have and his guidance. I just miss everything about him.”

Lead HSE inspector Charlie Rowe said: “This is a tragic and shocking case that has devastated Mr Saint’s family, friends and loved ones.

“Pedestrians being struck by moving vehicles remains a leading cause of workplace fatalities in Great Britain.

“Many of these incidents involve the reversal of vehicles with poor visibility, such as HGVs.

“The HSE will continue to take appropriate enforcement action where employers fail to implement reasonably practicable measures to keep people safe.

“My thoughts remain with all of David’s family and friends.”

This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Edward Parton and supported by senior paralegal manager Sarah Thomas.

BBC News | An automotive parts firm has been fined £1.3m after admitting health and safety breaches that led to the death of an employee. The company was also ordered to pay £16,284 in costs.

Telford-based Autostructures UK, formerly known as GKN Autostructures, had failed to fit a protective guard on a flywheel for two years, despite concerns raised by staff, Stafford Crown Court heard.

On 13 December 2018, 47-year-old employee Steven Westbrook was struck in the head by the flywheel and died four days later in hospital, as a result of head injuries he had suffered.

The judge, Mr Justice Turner KC, said there was “no excuse” for the missing guard and “the steps that needed to be taken to make the machine safer were neither complicated nor costly”.

“A properly-run company would never have allowed this dangerous state of affairs to arise.

“The dangers are obvious and the legal requirement mandating the need to fence off dangerous machinery in factories has been in place for well over 100 years.”

Traumatic

Lead prosecutor, Allan Spencer-Compton KC told the court it was unclear why the guard to the flywheel had been removed, but if it had been replaced the machine would have been safe.

The court heard that on the day he was injured Mr Westbrook had been working close to a 2,250 tonne pressing machine at the factory in Hadley Castle, which was powered by a large flywheel that moved at high speed.

At about 22:00 GMT on 13 December 2018, another member of staff reported hearing a “thud” and seeing Mr Westbrook flung backwards.

Mr Spencer-Compton said Mr Westbrook was taken to hospital in Stoke with a fractured skull and shoulder having suffered a traumatic brain injury which he did not recover from.

In a statement, Mr Westbrook’s wife, Suzanne, described him as her “childhood sweetheart” and said: “It was the hardest thing for me to witness Steven taking his last breath.”

Mr Westbrook’s mother, Joyce Westbrook, said it was “hard to describe the unbearable pain” she felt and said her son’s death had been “preventable”.

‘Accident waiting to happen’

He said this was the “central issue” in the case, but evidence from staff suggested the management of maintenance at the factory had “broken down” and that employees did not know who was responsible. Training for employees was “haphazard” and appeared to be “learn as you go”, the court was told.

Mr Spencer-Compton also said repeated complaints about the dangers of the unguarded flywheel at health and safety meetings had gone unheeded.

The court was shown footage of the machine and heard employees had said being close to it was “terrifying”.

Mr Spencer Compton said it was “sadly, an accident waiting to happen”.

In July, four people who were separately charged with health and safety breaches following the death of Mr Westbrook, were acquitted at Manchester Crown Court. But at Stafford Crown Court, Autostructures UK admitted a charge of failing to discharge the employer’s general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Systems ‘not followed’

James Leonard KC, who represented the company in court, said it accepted Mr Westbrook’s death “should never have happened” and the “fundamental problem is the fact the guard was not replaced”.

However, he argued there were systems in place to ensure the safety of staff, which were not followed.

Mr Leonard also told the court the company had been “seriously affected” by the recent cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover, which he described as a “major customer” of Autostructures UK. This has led to the loss of sales worth a “considerable value” and 19 employees being laid off.

With this in mind, the judge said he would adjust the deadline for the fine’s payment, with the company ordered to pay it off over the next 12 months.

Facilitate Magazine | Nearly half of people have spotted problems with fire doors in their workplace, a survey finds.

Despite widespread faults, only 13% of workers report fire door issues at work, according to research from the British Woodworking Federation. Issues identified ranged from fire doors being propped open (18%) and blocked (13%) to having faulty closers (10%) or faulty hinges (10%).

Fire doors act as a fire and smoke barrier, compartmentalising a building and helping to inhibit the spread of flames, heat and smoke. Effectively installed and maintained, they can allow crucial time to enable a building’s occupants to escape to safety.

The findings come as a recent FOI request revealed a 93% increase in lithium-ion battery fires between 2022 and 2024, with e-bikes and e-scooters among the most common causes.

Other sources of lithium-ion battery fires include vapes (38%) and electric cars and vans (36%). The research found 10% of people have experienced, or know someone who has experienced, a lithium-ion battery fire in the last 12 months.

Poor management of e-vehicles can exacerbate risk, too, as owners bring them into their workspaces, such as hallways, to charge. Many employers have introduced facilities for e-bikes and e-scooters, such as indoor parking (31%), charging points (59%), and secure storage (27%).

The British Woodworking Federation found more than half (59%) of e-bike and e-scooter owners said their fears around fire risk had grown since getting their vehicle.

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