Worker falls to death at manufacturing plant, East Riding Sacks Ltd fined £533K
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined East Riding Sacks Ltd £533,000 following the death of 51-year-old Mark Pinder at the company’s facility on Full Sutton Industrial Estate in Stamford Bridge, near York. On February 11, 2023, Mr. Pinder was operating a production line when a blockage occurred. While standing on stationary metal rollers to clear the blockage, he was struck by part of the machine that had been activated, causing him to fall approximately three meters from an unguarded edge to the factory floor below. He died at the scene from his injuries.
An HSE investigation found that East Riding Sacks Ltd failed to implement a safe system of work for isolating the sack-making line and clearing blockages. It was also found that risks related to working at height were not properly identified or mitigated. Workers were routinely clearing blockages without proper training or isolation procedures, and some used the conveyor belt as a shortcut by climbing over handrails rather than using stairs. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was ordered to pay an additional £6,066 in costs at Hull Magistrates Court on 30 April 2025.
What people are saying:
In a recent quote, Elliot Archer, HSE inspector, said, “Every year, a significant proportion of accidents, many of them serious and often fatal, occur as a result of people accessing dangerous parts of machinery and working at height.
“Where access beyond machinery guarding and safety devices is required for the removal of blockages, robust isolation procedures to remove all sources of power should be implemented alongside a suitable safe systems of work.
“Had these been in place, and the recognition of work at height being undertaken been flagged by the company, with appropriate controls implemented, this incident would have been avoidable.”
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