AJ Wells & Sons Ltd – the parent company behind Charnwood Stoves – was fined £200,000 and has admitted health and safety breaches after an employee suffered life changing injuries in an accident at work.
The worker had his lower leg amputated following crush injuries caused when heavy metal sheets fell on him on August 15, 2023.
He had been moving a trolley loaded with approximately 30 pieces of sheet metal, each weighing more than 20kg, when it toppled over and fell onto his legs.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the work at AJ Wells’ Isle of Wight premises was not being carried out safely.
Hugh Wells, MD of the family run business, told Fireplace Specialist magazine that they had huge remorse over the “devastating” incident. And he confirmed that the business had revised its production processes, including the use of trolleys, to prevent a similar accident happening in the future.
At the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court last week (November 25), A J Wells & Sons Ltd, of Bishops Way, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5WS, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £9,056 in prosecution costs.The court heard that failures included the use of a trolley that was not suitable for transporting such loads, unclear routes throughout the factory for moving trolleys, and inadequate training for employees in the safe movement of heavy materials.
In a statement following the hearing, A J Wells & Sons said: “We, the directors and shareholders of A J Wells and Sons, wish to express our deepest remorse for the injury sustained by one of our employees in 2023.
“This incident has saddened and shaken us and has been one of the worst times in our 53 years of business.
“We have always felt passionately about manufacturing on the Isle of Wight and providing meaningful, local employment.
“With that we take seriously the need to value, care for and protect our staff — this sense of responsibility is deeply rooted in our Christian faith.
“That we fell short in this instance is something we sincerely regret, and has acted to further reinforce our commitment to our employees’ wellbeing.
“This employee continues to remain a valued member of our team and is being supported as he makes a phased return to work.”
Speaking directly to Fireplace Specialist magazine, Mr Wells said: “It was devastating for our worker and for everyone in the business – it was a horrible accident.
“We’ve supported him through it and he still works for us.”
Commenting on any lessons learned, he said: “We’ve been in business for over 50 years and in the last ten we have put in a huge range of new measures to improve safety, including having a full time Health and Safety Officer.
“We want to stop these things happening, yet despite all these measures we still suffered this awful incident.
“So I would advise all others working in this industry to go well beyond what the regulations say to try and avoid any accidents happening to your workforce.”
HSE inspector Nicola Pinckney said: “I hope this case serves to highlight to the industry the importance of ensuring health and safety is taken seriously and all parts of workers’ employment are properly risk assessed, and risks are controlled.”