Northcot Brick has been fined £18,500 with costs of £7,500 after one of its employees was seriously injured.

The incident on 27 February 2014 occurred at the brick manufacturer's site at Station Road, Blockley in Gloucester.

Stroud Magistrates' Court heard that a 45-year-old worker sustained serious injuries to his right leg, with the partial loss of two toes, after either stepping onto or falling onto a recently-installed machine that breaks up clay.


A risk assessment identified that the machinery required guarding or barriers, but these were not yet put in place.

Northcot Brick pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspector Ann Linden said: "This incident would not have happened if simple precautions such as putting up a barrier or guard had been in place. Safeguards cannot be relaxed because a machine is being commissioned or tested."

(LM/MH)