The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning employers to ensure they have suitable controls in place to prevent people being struck by moving vehicles. The warning follows HSE's prosecution of a Coventry scrap and recycling business, after a worker was killed.

Easco (Midlands) Limited was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £55,000 costs at Coventry Crown Court on Monday 5 February, after pleading guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

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On 14 June 2005, Ronald Barnacle, 58, who was a burner at the company's site in Ibstock Road, Longford, Coventry was killed when he was struck by a reversing skip lorry.

Speaking after the case HSE Inspector Jenny Skeldon, said: "Scrapyard owners need to ensure that they make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the movement of vehicles and pedestrians on site and, identify and implement appropriate control measures to prevent people being struck by moving vehicles.

"In this case, particularly between March 2004 and December 2005, there were inadequate precautions in place to segregate pedestrians from vehicles, despite previous warnings from HSE at other sites within the Easco Group."

Jenny concluded: "Had basic health and safety precautions been observed it is most unlikely that such a fatality would have occurred."

(JM)