Construction firms fined after man's leg crushed

Two construction firms have been fined a total of £30,000 for failing to provide safe systems of work after part of a man's leg was amputated following an accident which saw a tipper truck fall onto him.

The man was trapped against a pile of brick rubble.

M.J. Curle of Naird Lane, Shifnal, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,500 at Shrewsbury Crown court on Friday last week.

The main contractor on the site, Anthony Wilson Homes, of Park Street, Shifnal, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching health and safety regulations.

The house builder was fined £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000, although it has now gone into liquidation.

The incident happened on 24 May 2005 when a tipper truck carrying 'tar-covered road rubble' on the Jernimgham Arms site in Park Street.

HSE inspector Katharine Walker said: "All employers have a responsibility to ensure that safe working practices are in place and that suitable risk assessments are underaken because failure to do so could cost lives, as well as result in enforcement action from the HSE. In this instance a man has lost part of his limb and his life has been dramatically affected because of these failings."