A colleague in the adjacent ‘lamb boning hall’ heard his cries and found him with his arm trapped in the machine and being dragged further in
A general view of the Kepak meat processing plant, where the incident took place(Image: Matthew Horwood)
A factory worker was forced to have his arm amputated as it was the only way to free him from machinery he became stuck in, a court has heard. Kepak Group Limited has gone on trial accused of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees, following the incident.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Alan Fuller explained how Liam Haydon, who was 22 at the time, was forced to have his left arm amputated as a result of the incident, which took place on February 16, 2021.
The plant, where animals are slaughtered and meats processed, employs 900 people, with 60 of those working in the hygiene department, including Mr Haydon. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.
On the day of the incident, Mr Haydon, an employee for almost two years, had been working in what the court heard was called the ‘lamb boning hall’, where cuts of lamb are prepared, and where extensive cleaning is required through the night.
The court heard Mr Haydon, as part of his duties, uses a ‘Speco solids-liquids separation’ machine, a device to separate fats and liquids, covered by a cage.
On February 16, 2021, Mr Haydon made his way to the room containing the machine, and could see that the cage around it was not secured, the prosecution said.
Mr Fuller said: “He lifted it in readiness for cleaning, and could see the machine wasn’t running, and presumed it had been switched off by an engineer.
“He began his work by using a shovel to remove debris from the floor, and used a jet washer to try and dislodge meat, but it would not move.
“He bent over and placed his left arm into the machine to try and dislodge it, but as soon as he dislodged what was there, the screw conveyor sprang into life.
“Hindsight tells us the screw conveyor had been blocked and stopped moving during production, and had gone unaddressed, with nobody doing anything to solve the problem.
“Liam’s cries were eventually heard by a colleague working in an adjacent lamb boning hall, who came to his aid and immediately saw Liam’s left arm was in the machine and being pulled into the machine further. The isolator button was pushed to bring the machine to a halt, and he called to colleagues, who called the emergency services.”
The only way for Mr Haydon to be dislodged from the machine was by amputating his arm, the court heard.
Police attended the scene, but it was the health and safety executive which carried out the primary investigation, with inquiries made in a number of areas, including Mr Haydon’s training.
It was heard that he underwent 167 separate ‘cleaning instruction cards’ during his training, with the relevant training lasting only three to ten minutes.
It is alleged that on and before February 19, 2021, at its Penygarnddu Industrial Estate, Merthyr Tydfil base, being an employer, the company “failed to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all its employees, including Liam Haydon, in relation to the risks arising from the operation, cleaning and maintenance of the Speco Solids-Liquids Separation machine.”
The trial continues.
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