Fine after waste worker run over on first day

The then 40-year-old was hand picking waste when he was hit from behind by a moving shovel loader. The digger drove over the man and had to reverse when the alarm was raised by nearby colleagues.

CCTV footage of the incident, at the Mossdown Road site of Wheeldon Brothers Waste Limited, has been released.

The man, now 44, suffered a bone fracture, as well as muscle and nerve damage to his leg after being struck by the vehicle in the yard on 28 July 2021. The incident happened on his first day in employment as a waste picker.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that he had been hand picking waste after the conveyor belt they used had been removed from use after it was significantly damaged in a fire a few months earlier.

Employees were therefore required to work directly on the ground, near moving vehicles with no separation between them, putting the workers in considerable danger. There was no risk assessment and a lack of supervision for picking and sorting waste on the ground.

• HSE guidance states that pedestrians and moving vehicles should be segregated when waste is being manually sorted. A safety bulletin was also issued a few months after this incident with specific guidance on the use of wheeled loading shovels.

After the incident the man spent one week in hospital because of his injuries. He has now returned to work with a different company.

The HSE investigation also found the company had failed to ensure there were adequate measures in place for the safe segregation of vehicles and pedestrians. There was no risk assessment for this altered work activity after the fire and supervision and monitoring was inadequate.

Wheeldon Brothers Waste Limited, of Bury New Road, Bury, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay £4,102 costs at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 2 April 2025.

After the hearing, HSE principal inspector Lisa Bailey said: “This man is lucky to be alive.

“Vehicles such as shovel loaders require plenty of space due to the number of blind spots and poor visibility.

“This incident was easily avoidable by implementing control measures and safe practises. Measures should have been implemented to ensure that workers present in the yard were not put at risk from moving vehicles in and around where they were working, including rigorous pedestrian and vehicle segregation and safe refuge for workers whilst vehicles are operating.

“This should be a reminder to the waste industry of the need to ensure that workplace transport is appropriately considered, with control measures introduced to ensure the appropriate separation of vehicles and pedestrians.”

The prosecution was supported by HSE enforcement lawyer Sam Crockett and paralegal officer Louisa Shaw.