A FIRM in Ellesmere Port was ordered to pay nearly £10,000 after admitting breaching regulations when a worker lost his fingertip in a machine.

GREIF UK Ltd, which makes large steel containers in Ellesmere Port, was sentenced after one of its employees lost the digit at the factory on Oil Sites Road.

The 55-year-old man was trying to remove debris from the chains under a rotating table when his hand was pulled into the mechanism.

His employer was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an investigation into the incident on September 23 last year.

On Thursday, July 5, Chester Magistrates’ Court was told the worker had been cleaning a rotating table, which holds the steel container lids in place while they are spray painted, when the glove on his right hand became caught leaving him without the tip of his index finger.

The court heard there were no guards under the rotating table to prevent access to the chains while they were moving. The company has since installed fencing and a gate around the machine, which stops it from operating if the gate is opened.

GREIF UK Ltd admitted a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. The company was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £3,699 in costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Paren said: “One of Greif UK’s employees was injured because the company failed to do its job properly and look after his safety.

“It was able to install new safety fencing just two days after the worker lost part of his finger in machinery. If the fencing had been in place at the time of the incident, then his injuries could have been avoided.

“Manufacturing firms must make the safety of employees their top priority to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. Otherwise they risk finding themselves in court.”