A sand and gravel supplier has been fined for safety failings after an employee had three tendons in his hand severed.

Jamie Roden, 26, from Telford, was trying to clear a blockage in a machine used to bag quarried material when his hand was caught by a dangerous heat-sealing device with a blade inside.

Mr Roden had only been employed by Salop Sand & Gravel Supply Company Ltd for four months when the incident happened at Wildmoor Quarry, Sandy Lane in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire on 15 September 2011.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told Redditch Magistrates' Court that Mr Roden was attempting to clear the blockage by opening the doors on a 'form, fill, seal' machine, which creates, fills and seals plastic sacks of quarried materials. Because an interlock system to cut the power supply when the doors were opened did not work, the machine kept running. The heat sealer slammed onto Mr Roden's left hand, severing three tendons.

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Mr Roden was unable to return to work due to his injuries and has since left the company. Eight months on since the incident, he has only just been able to find another job.

HSE prosecuted Salop Sand & Gravel Supply Company Ltd after an investigation revealed a number of failings which allowed Mr Roden to access the machine when it was still powered. A machine guard had been available since 2007 but hadn't been fitted and the firm had failed to ensure the interlocks on the doors were sufficiently maintained. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment had not been carried out.

Salop Sand & Gravel Supply Company Ltd of Admaston, Wellington, Telford pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The company was fined £3,300 and ordered to pay costs of £3,491.

(CD)