Prosecutions

A farm worker sustained severe injuries after getting an electric shock while working for one of the largest potato growers in the UK.

The worker was working with irrigation equipment at a farm in Cambridgeshire in October 2009. As he lifted one of the irrigation pipes it made contact with the 33,000 volt overhead power line.

The resulting electric shock meant the worker suffered internal injuries and severe burns which led to his big toe being amputated. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted his employers, the farm, after an investigation.

Ely Magistrates Court heard that the farm has working premises covering 11,000 acres across Norfolk and Cambridgeshire but the HSE probe found a lack of training and information given to employees and contractors. There had also been no assessment on how to carry out the work safely.

The farming firm based in admitted to breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and was fined £10,000 with £2,223.38 costs.

A HSE inspector said:

"This was a horrible incident which was entirely preventable had his employers made the worker aware of the overhead power lines and the risk they posed to the working environment.

"The worker is lucky to be alive. However, that doesn't deflect from the severity of the injuries he suffered and the nine weeks he spent in hospital.

"Between ten and fifteen people are killed each year by inadvertent contact with overhead power lines, and on average two of these work in agriculture. Employers must ensure that appropriate training and supervision is provided to employees and contractors and a sufficient risk assessment must also be carried out."