Employers have been warned to ensure they have effective measures in place to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, after a maintenance engineer lost the tip of his finger.

Pilkington Tiles Ltd of Clifton Junction, Swindon, Manchester was fined £18,000 by the HSE and ordered to pay costs of £7,500 at Trafford Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

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On 4 April 2006, maintenance engineer Brian Wallis caught his fingertip in the running machinery of the conveyor belt he was adjusting when it suddenly started up.

HSE Inspector Sandra Tomlinson, said: "This was a wholly avoidable incident had the company followed the correct procedures. The danger of unguarded machinery cannot be highlighted too much. It is the employers duty to ensure that risks to safety within the workplace are adequately assessed and that correct control measures are implemented to avoid injury."

(JM)