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A plastics manufacturer has been fined £330,000 after a young father was killed in a work-related incident.
Nathan Hook (34) was working for Maynard and Harris Plastics at their premises in Ellough, near Beccles on 7 October 2021. Nathan had been on a late shift and was operating a lathe in the tool room to create a work piece for a machine.
He applied emery cloth by hand to the workpiece to debur the metal. Emery cloth is used to polish metal, similar to the way sandpaper smoothes wood. However, the cloth became entangled and wrapped around the workpiece, drawing Nathan into the machinery.
His sweatshirt sleeve also became entangled, pinning him against the rotating workpiece and causing fatal injuries to his head.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Maynard and Harris Plastics failed to provide suitable training on how to use emery cloth safely on lathes. The company had also failed to risk assess alternative methods, such as application of emery cloth using a stick.
Maynard and Harris Plastics pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act. They were fined £330,000 and ordered to pay £4,373 costs at a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on 5 December 2024.
Speaking after the hearing, his mother Jacqueline Castledine said the investigation and prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had ‘completely exonerated’ her son.
“I have very mixed emotions but pleased Nathan’s been completely exonerated,” she said.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank those have supported us throughout this horrendous ordeal, far too many to mention. But mostly the HSE for their thorough investigation and its conclusions.
“We must now try to move forward keeping Nathan with us always.”
HSE inspector Natalie Prince said:
“Our thoughts remain with Nathan’s family.
“He was a young dad who should have returned home safely to them at the end of his working day, but because of this company’s failings, he did not.”
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