Business

Dairy Crest has been fined £5,000 for an incident in which an employee broke his arm using a milk bottle filling machine at a Dagenham facility.

The machine started unexpectedly in October 2005 while David Pennycook had his arm inside an open hatch. It caught his sleeve and pulled his arm further in.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the hatch was guarded with a polycarbonate cover fitted with an interlocking device. If working correctly, it should have prevented the machine from restarting with the hatch open.

The HSE also said the site did not have a sufficient management system to ensure checks were properly carried out.

Dairy Crest, which has also been ordered to pay costs of £3,600, said it "greatly regretted" the accident and accepted responsibility. It said staff wellbeing was of "primary importance".

Pennycook required reconstructive surgery to restore full use of his left hand, but has since returned to work at the Chadwell Heath site.