A Manchester-based manufacturing firm has been fined after an employee was seriously burnt by a diecasting machine.

Presbar Diecastings Ltd of Store Street, Manchester pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

It was fined £140,000 with over £9,788 in costs as well as a £120 victim surcharge.

Manchester Crown Court heard that the victim had entered the middle of the machine between the furnace pot and the front bar to clear a build up of metal on 07 July 2015.


While carrying out the routine task, the machines robot arm started to move and the worker tried to move out of the way. However he was trapped by a ladle containing 400 degrees centigrade of molten metal. As as result he suffered fourth degree burns and a cardiac arrest.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the machinery had only been partially guarded, making making access to the ladle possible. A risk assessment in place at the time identified the hazard of contact or entrapment with the ladle.

HSE Principal Inspector Mike Sebastian said: “A man suffered life changing injuries which could have been prevented if the machine had been properly guarded. Employers should ensure that they regularly check, assess and review the guarding on their machinery to ensure that all access to dangerous parts in prevented."

(LM/CD)