The owner of a Bedfordshire farm has been prosecuted for failing to complete legally required documentation in relation to safe working near overhead power cables.

Bedford Magistrates' Court heard recently that on 23 June 2010 an employee of Davison & Co (Barford) Ltd, the owners of College Farm in Great Barford, was tipping compost from a lorry trailer into a field when the trailer came into contact with a live 33kV power line overhead.

No-one was injured, but a subsequent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the company had neglected to complete essential, legal documentation relating to the line. This is required to inform both employees and regulators of the existence of the hazard so that appropriate steps and controls can be put in place to keep workers safe.


Davison & Co (Barford) Ltd, of College Farm, Great Barford admitted breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in relation to the offence, and was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £500 in costs.

The company was found not guilty of breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 in connection to the tipper lorry incident.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Stephen Faulkner said: "It is an employer's duty to complete all legally required documentation to ensure that necessary steps to protect workers from risk are communicated formally to all relevant parties, including the workers themselves."

(PM)