A COMPANY has been sentenced following serious health and safety breaches after a worker sustained fatal injuries at its premises in Penistone.

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard how, on November 18 of 2021, an operative - 45-year-old David Lockwood - died after becoming entangled in an unguarded wire drawing and recoiling machine at Stanley Wire Limited’s site on Talbot Road.

The machine, known as a ‘gravity block’, had exposed moving parts which Mr Lockwood - as well as others - had unrestricted access to despite dangerous moving parts being in operation.

The incident resulted in the operative sustaining fatal head injuries.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company had failed to take effective measures to prevent employees from accessing dangerous moving parts of the wire drawing machine.

The investigation identified that the company should have carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for the machine, and subsequently developed a safe system of work and clearly communicated this to its workforce.

HSE also found that fixed closed guards, interlocks or pressure mats should have been installed to prevent operatives from entering the gravity block while it was rotating.

The company - which specialises in the manufacture of all forms of bright and black annealed wire - could have appointed a designated competent person on site and provided formal training to operatives, rather than relying on verbal instruction.

Recognised industry-standard safety measures could and should have been implemented on a number of machines, instead of allowing substandard conditions to persist over a prolonged period.

Stanley Wire, after pleading guilty at an early hearing of breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay £6,652 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Charlotte Bligh warned companies that their unsafe working practises will be clamped down hard on and urged companies to act on guidance before injuries - or fatalities - occur.

She said: “Following the incident, eight prohibition notices were served on the company.

“The remedial action taken demonstrated that appropriate measures, such as effective guarding, were readily available and could have been put in place had the risks associated with the activity been properly considered.

“Companies are reminded that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required health and safety standards.”

Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Marie Tidball urged companies to put measures in place to stop a repeat tragedy.

“It’s reassuring there is now a concrete outcome for the family after the tragic death of David,” Marie told the Chronicle.

“I will be writing to them to offer my support.

“My thoughts are with David’s family, friends and his fellow colleagues who worked alongside him.

“It is vital that the company has subsequently put in place the measures needed to ensure a tragedy like this can never happen again.

“Health and safety is extremely important in keeping the lives of the workforce safe from injury and fatal harm.

“If anybody affected needs to contact me for support, please do get in touch with me at marie.tidball.casework@parliament.uk.”