Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 28th May 2026 Issue no. 1212
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Waste firm fined after worker crushed by excavator
A County Durham waste management company has been fined after a young employee was run over by an excavator. Farm XS (Northern), based in Barnard Castle, was sentenced after an incident in January 2024 that left the 24-year-old with serious injuries.
The employee was only in his second week of employment at the Staindrop Road site when he was struck from behind by an excavator and run over. He suffered fractures to both feet.
An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive found that the company had failed to ensure a safe system of work was in place. The man was working on a waste pile near moving vehicles with no physical separation between them. There was no risk assessment or system of work to protect pedestrians from vehicle movements.
HSE guidance clearly states that pedestrians and vehicles should be segregated when waste is being manually sorted. By law, employers must ensure traffic routes can be used without risking the safety of workers nearby.
The case against Farm XS (Northern) was heard at Teesside Magistrates' Court last month. The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.It was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £4,285 in costs.
"The outcome could have been much worse," warns HSE inspector Richard McMullen. :But the failures that day meant a worker received serious injuries.
"This incident was easily avoidable by implementing control measures and safe practices to ensure that workers were not put at risk from moving vehicles, including clear segregation and safe refuges.
"This should be a reminder to the waste industry of the need to consider workplace transport risks and to introduce appropriate control measures to separate vehicles and pedestrians."
More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk
18th September 2025