01/12/2010 - Potato firm fined over cable burns
A potato company has been prosecuted after one of its workers was severely injured by an overhead power cable.
David McMullan, from County Antrim in Northern Ireland, was lifting an irrigation pipe when it struck the 33,000 volt cable.
Mr McMullan suffered serious burns, internal damage and had to have his big toe amputated following the accident at Crouchmoor Farm in Littleport, Cambridgeshire.
His employer, Waldersley Farms Limited, was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £2,223.38 in costs at Ely Magistrates' Court.
The company, one of the largest potato growers in the United Kingdom with 11,000 acres of land in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after investigators found that very little training and information was offered to its employees and contractors.
A HSE inspector described the accident as totally preventable had Mr McMullen been made aware of the dangers the overhead cables posed.
He went on to remind all employers that they must provide adequate training to employees and ensure they are properly supervised.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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