The 56-year-old employee, who has asked not to be named, was working at Standfast & Barracks, a subsidiary of Abaris Holdings, when he was injured in 2010.

He fractured his hand, injured his elbow and needed four stitches to his thumb when his right hand was dragged into the rollers of an operational wet-processing machine as he tried to remove a piece of material from one of the rollers.

At a hearing on 9 November 2012, following an investigation by the HSE, Abaris Holdings pleaded guilty to a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Standfast & Barracks managing director Barry Forrester said that the company had a duty of care towards the employee, who still works at the company.

"The accident shouldn’t have been possible but the most important thing is that he has recovered and has carried on with us," he said.

The case was tried in Lancaster Magistrate’s Court, where the maximum fine could have been £20,000. Forrester said it was "unfortunate" that it had taken this long for the case to be settled.

Standfast & Barracks now uses electro sensitive protective devices, which use light beams to detect abnormal use of its machinery.


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