Animal feed manufacturer William Thompson (York) Limited has been fined £500,000 after a worker suffered life changing injuries while operating machinery.
The Yorkshire firm pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced at York Magistrates Court guilty after an incident on November 14, 2023 which saw a supervisor caught in a rotating auger.
The operative had been trying to resolve an issue with the machine – which is designed to transport excess feed away from a press – when his foot became caught in the rotating blade, which had been left operating while he attempted the fix.
The 41-year-old sustained injuries so serious that lower leg amputation was considered and he remained in hospital for six weeks. The court heard he lost his big toe and other toes were seriously damaged.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that William Thompson (York) Limited failed to prevent access to dangerous parts of the machinery and also to carry out a suitable risk assessment of the work being done.
The company has since spent £1m updating its equipment and facilities to prevent a similar accident in the future.
HSE guidance states employers must take effective measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery. This will normally be by fixed guarding but where routine access is needed, interlocked guards may be needed to stop the movement of dangerous parts before a person can reach the danger zone. Further guidance can be found here: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) – HSE.
William Thompson (York) Limited, of Main Street, Malton, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974. The company was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay £4,455 in costs at York Magistrates Court on November 18, 2025.
HSE Inspector Shauna Halstead said: “This company’s failures resulted in a man sustaining life-changing injuries.
“Too many workers are injured or killed every year because of failures to guard dangerous parts of machinery.
“Companies must implement safe working practices when carrying out maintenance operations.
“We will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all they should to keep people safe when working with machinery.”
A spokesperson for William Thompson Ltd, said: “We would like to express our deep regret and remorse for having fallen short of the appropriate standards and for the injuries sustained by Kevin.
“We as a company have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure we learn from the events and to ensure no similar incident occurs in the future. We have made a number of changes and improvements and nothing is more important to us than the continued safety of our employees.
“During the sentencing hearing the judge noted that the company takes health and safety seriously and that following the incident we have put in place extensive measures to mitigate risk, with health and safety being front and centre and the first point on the agenda in meetings.”
