A cement company has been fined £1m after one of its workers was killed when he was crushed by machinery in a cement bagging plant.
Martin Bennett, 35, was crushed to death by a 1.6-tonne concrete weight, used to raise pallets full of 25kg bags of cement. He was working for Dragon Alfa Cement at its Gloucestershire facility when the incident took place on 4 August 2021.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that a large section of the equipment’s perimeter fencing had routinely been removed over a prolonged period. This allowed full access into the dangerous parts of the machinery, including moving parts that presented a risk of serious injury or death.
Dragon Alfa Cement pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. It was fined £1m and ordered to pay £9,621 in costs at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (21 July).
Dangerous machinery parts exposed
HSE inspector Oliver Guiver said the incident should never have happened. “The company repeatedly failed to ensure dangerous parts of this machinery were properly guarded, despite suitable safeguards being available. Had those measures been in place, Martin would not have died.”
In a victim personal statement, Martin’s wife, Layla, said: “He was kind, I mean right down to the very bones of him kind, he would always put himself last even if you didn’t want him to.”
