Flower firm fined after worker loses leg

Andy Hazelden was working for MM Flowers Limited, at its site in Alconbury Weald, on 4 February 2023 when he was injured while helping to manually unload cargo from a delivery trailer ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Cargo had become stuck on the trailer, and Mr Hazelden, along with two colleagues, attempted to free it. As part of this process, he stepped onto a roller deck where there was a gap.

Photo of gap in roller deck pre-accident

Once the cargo was freed, a skid slid from the trailer onto the roller deck and struck his left leg, which had become trapped in the gap.

The 60-year-old sustained devastating injuries and later underwent a series of medical procedures, ultimately resulting in a through-knee amputation.

His injuries have been life-changing, leaving him reliant on a wheelchair and the care of his wife. He has also been unable to continue his much-loved pastime of riding motorcycles.

Mr Hazelden said: “I was fully conscious whilst trapped on the roller deck following the accident… at one point I was genuinely terrified I was going to bleed out and die. I could hear blood hitting the warehouse floor.”

“Much of the time during my stay at hospital I felt helpless and undignified. I have pretty much had to learn to mobilise in a wheelchair and learn to walk again using prosthetic limbs. I feel my identity has changed.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that MM Flowers Limited failed to ensure employees were safe when unloading aircraft skids from delivery vehicles in the intake area.

Workers were required to physically intervene when skids became stuck, exposing them to risk from moving loads. The investigation also identified a 10cm gap in the roller deck that had not been recognised or addressed, creating a risk of employees stepping into it.

HSE guidance states that employers must put in place suitable arrangements to manage health and safety, including designing effective risk control systems and ensuring safe systems of work are followed in practice. Further guidance can be found here: Managing for health and safety (PDF) .

MM Flowers Limited, of Enterprise Campus, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £134,000 and ordered to pay £4,908 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 10 April 2026.

HSE inspector Tom Pouncey said: “Health and safety law is there to ensure people can go home healthy from work, sadly a man has had the rest of his life severely impacted due to his employer failing to fulfil their duty.

“Serious incidents like this can occur when everyday work activities have not been properly assessed and unsafe practices are allowed to continue.

“In this case, employees were exposed to risk by being required to manually intervene with stuck loads, and by the presence of an unprotected gap where they were working.

“Had the company identified these risks and implemented a safe system of work, Mr Hazelden’s life-changing injury could have been prevented.”

This HSE prosecution was brought by enforcement lawyer Rebecca Schwartz and paralegal officer Michael Millman.