Manufacturers are being urged to make sure effective safety measures are in place to protect factory workers who use dangerous machinery. The warning comes after an incident in which an employee, Anthony Rackham, aged 42, of Scalby Road, Scarborough suffered serious injuries when he was pulled into a machine at a sheet steel-rolling plant at Sherburn, North Yorkshire in September last year. Mr Rackham was making drainage fall pipe components and was feeding a sheet of steel into a lock form machine when his gloved left hand became caught in the front rollers, pulling his lower arm into the machine. His arm was crushed and sustained a double fracture.

The plant's operators, Kingspan Ltd, of Greenfield Business Park No 2, Greenfield, Holywell, Flintshire were fined £3,500 by Scarborough Magistrates today, with costs of £1, 949.70 after pleading guilty to an offence under Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

HSE inspector Paul Robinson said: 'A metal guard for the front rollers had apparently previously been taken off to help line up the sheets to go into the machine. The company removed the rollers and fitted a new clear plastic guard immediately after the accident, but if the situation had been properly planned and controlled effective guarding would have been in place at all times.'