A Somerset farming partnership has been fined £53,000 after a worker was killed following an incident involving a telehandler in a pig barn.
C M Stone pleaded guilty at Weston Super Mare Magistrates’ Court this week to breaching health and safety at work regulations.
The incident occurred in October 2019, when Andrew Denning, a self-employed farm worker, was helping with the mucking-out and animal welfare checks inside the pig shed.
He was working in close proximity to a telehandler, fitted with a bucket, which was scraping the muck from the floor using multiple short manoeuvres.
The telehandler then reversed, which impacted Mr Denning and killed him in the process.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that C M Stone failed to ensure a safe system of work.
The safety watchdog said staff working within the shed were not adequately segregated from the machine so far as was reasonably practicable.
CM Stone of the Yards, Woolavington Puriton, Bridgwater, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The company has been fined £53,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,000.
Commenting after the court case, HSE inspector William Powell said: “The system of work used at this farm was not safe.
"Simple measures to keep pedestrians and large farm vehicles properly separated could have prevented Mr Denning’s death.
“Being struck by a moving vehicle has been the biggest cause of workplace fatalities on farms for several years."
He added: "Farmers should properly assess their workplace transport risks and separate people and vehicles where reasonably practicable.
"HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”
