Man loses finger while working at popular Yorkshire bread factory as company fined £360,000

A popular Yorkshire bread maker was fined more than £360,000 after one of its employees lost a finger in machinery.

Jacksons Bakery based in Hessle, East Yorkshire, is a leading supplier of bread used in supermarket sandwiches.

An engineer got a finger on his right hand caught in a flour sifting machine while maintaining machinery at a Northamptonshire factory in February 2023.

He was clearing a machine blockage at the plant in Corby when he removed the guard and his hand got pulled around the bottom pully.

The machine had been switched back on and he had to have part of his middle right finger amputated.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Jacksons Bakery failed to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all their employees.

The company failed to make sure the machine was isolated and locked off during maintenance work when fixed guards were removed.

They also found that engineers did not know when to isolate and lock off machines because of inadequate training.

The company was fined £366,666 and was ordered to pay £5,386 costs at a hearing at Wellingborough Magistrates Court on 3 October 2024.

HSE inspector Rebecca Gibson said: “This unnecessary incident highlights the duty on employers to ensure that there are robust procedures in place relating to maintenance activities.

“If an appropriate ‘lock out tag out’ procedure had been produced and implemented and with suitable training, the serious injury would have been avoided.”