A farmer from North Yorkshire has been fined £10,000 following
an accident at work which saw an
employee lose a leg.
Peter Turnbull, a partner in family-run farming firm GR Turnbull
& Sons, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
following an investigation into the incident.
Scarborough Magistrates' Court heard that the 23-year-old
employee, who has not been named, was working at Skipsters Hagg
Farm near Pickering when the accident happened on November 9,
2009.
The hired hand, who lives in Whitby, had been employed to help
cut forage maize, and was driving a silage trailer while Turnbull
was alongside in a forage harvester.
The man's leg became caught in the harvester's rotating cutting
discs while he and Turnbull attempted to clear a blockage, and his
injury was so serious that paramedics had to amputate the limb even
though an air ambulance was at the scene.
Turnbull, 45, of Grange Farm, Sinnington, North Yorkshire,
pleaded guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work
Regulations 1998 by allowing someone under his control to enter a
danger zone while dangerous parts were still operating. He was also
ordered to pay £1,698 in costs on top of the fine.