Docks fined œ15,000 over burnt painter

Safety breaches by Devonport Royal Dockyard led to a massive explosion which left a young trainee painter severely burnt and trapped in a tiny chamber deep within the dockyard gates, Plymouth Magistrates Court heard.

DRD, which runs the Plymouth dockyard, was fined œ15,000 and ordered to pay œ12,300 costs.

HSE principal inspector, Mike Atkinson, was surprised by the ruling. 'I had quite expected it to be referred to the Crown Court,' he told CJ.

Trainee painter Kerrie Robson, now 19, suffered 40% burns in the explosion which happened while she was paint spraying 50ft deep in a chamber within the dockyard gates.

Atkinson criticised DRD for failing to follow a number of safety regulations during the paint spraying operation. He told Plymouth Magistrates Court that: the work was not supervised by a fully trained charge hand; was lit by ordinary electric lighting instead of flame proof lighting; had no rescue apparatus; had no trained tank sentry on watch; had no COSHH assessment; and had been ventilated by the use of some ducting found at the side of the dockyard gate.

Atkinson said: 'Witnesses said the plume of flames that came out of the manhole seemed like a jet engine running on full power - it was a massive explosion.'

Robson was working with Alan Malone and Chris Shortland and had stayed in the chamber to gain more experience in painting.

Jonathon Cooper, defending, said the accident was 'a one-off' and that the yard had a good safety record. He added that since the accident, recommendations had been made to improve safety and the company was looking at the conduct of four people under the company's disciplinary codes.