An international metal-processing company has been prosecuted after a forklift truck ran over one of its employees at a site in Bolton.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) decided to prosecute All Metal Services Limited (AMS) following the incident at the company’s warehouse on the Wingates Industrial Park in Westhoughton in September 2008.

Employee Derek Baxter, 54, from Radcliffe was kneeling down to measure empty pallets at the end of an aisle, when the forklift truck ran over his right leg, trapping his foot.

Mr Baxter sustained three broken toes and fractured several bones in his foot, as well as suffering extensive skin, muscle and tissue damage. He continues to have difficulty walking more than eighteen months after the incident.

At the time of the accident, items of stock had been left in the aisle, narrowing the route for the truck. There was also no separate walkway for pedestrians on the site.

On Friday (16/04/10) at Manchester Crown Court, AMS – whose headquarters are based at Horton Industrial Estate in West Drayton, Greater London – pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, by failing to provide a separate walkway for pedestrians. The company was fined £12,500 and ordered to pay £4,230 costs.

After the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Alex Farnhill said:

‘Derek Baxter has been left with a badly damaged right leg as a result of AMS’ poor health and safety procedures. He had to take sixteen months off work and still has a swollen foot, which makes it difficult for him to walk.

‘The company has an annual turnover of more than $180 million, with bases in the

UK, France and China. Any organisation that size can easily afford to spend time and

money on basic health and safety,’ added Mr Farnhill.

Mr Farnhill also pointed out that AMS supplies raw materials to the aerospace and defence industries.

‘Measures should have been taken to ensure vehicles and pedestrians were effectively

separated in the warehouse so they could both circulate in a safe manner.

‘I hope this incident will act as a warning to AMS – and encourage other manufacturers to

think more about the potential dangers of vehicles in factories and warehouses,’ said Mr Farnhill.

There were 32 deaths and more than 22,400 serious injuries in the manufacturing sector in Great Britain last year, according to HSE statistics. More information about improving safety is

available at www.hse.gov.uk/manufacturing.

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