A Manchester fencing manufacturer has admitted putting its employees in danger by allowing them to use unguarded machinery.

Fencing Supplies Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the company allowed guards to be disabled on nine fence cutting machines at its factory in Trafford Park.

An HSE inspector visited the site in July 2009, and served nine Prohibition Notices banning the use of the machines and an Improvement Notice requiring changes to working practices.

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Trafford Magistrates' Court heard that the guards on five machines had been deliberately bypassed. This meant that workers could gain access to them, while they were still operating, to carry out maintenance work and remove waste materials.

Mike Lisle, the Investigating Inspector at HSE, said: "The machines should have automatically shut down before anyone was able to get close to the dangerous parts of the machinery.

"But as a result of the guards being defeated, the machines continued to operate with workers at risk of coming into contact with moving parts and suffering serious injury." The business pleaded guilty to breaching regulations. The company was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay £2,774 towards the cost of the prosecution on 9 October.



(BMcN)