Painter and decorator sentenced after stepson electrocuted on job
A sole trader has been sentenced after his stepson was fatally electrocuted while working on a domestic property in Chester.
Daniel Watton, 50, trading as Inside Out Painters and Decorators Property Maintenance, was given a suspended jail sentence in relation to the death of trainee painter Connor Lambert. The 24-year-old, from Market Drayton, died after coming into contact with electricity, when a ladder was being moved near overhead power lines. He had been working at the house in Farndon on 29 July 2024 when the incident occurred.
Connor had been expecting his first child with partner Megan McCann at the time, and she described him as having the ‘cheekiest grin’ and being someone who loved family life.
Read more on the HSE website.
Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack
Hundreds of French supermarkets have been hit by a cyber attack that caused their fridges and freezers to heat up, spoiling fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros.
Hackers gained control of the software that regulates the temperatures of the refrigeration units, forcing some to warm to 50C (120F) overnight, according to one supermarket chain affected.
The chief executive of Coopérative U said several of its supermarkets had been hit by the “extremely serious and unprecedented” attack.
More than 100 of the chain’s supermarkets were targeted, while 180 stores from Intermarché and its Netto brand were affected, with a spokesman saying that another 100 shops were urgently disconnected from the internet to prevent the same thing happening to them.
For more on the incident visit the BBC website.
Sheet metal fabrication company fined £48,000 after employee suffers life-changing injury
Fitzpatrick Fabrications Ltd, a sheet metal fabrication company in Lancashire, has been fined £48,000 after an employee lost part of his right thumb and suffered a crush injury to his hand during a manual handling task.
On 24 October 2024, at around 11.30am, Mr Todd Marshall, a welder/fabricator, was working at the Fitzpatrick Fabrications factory at Malvern Mill, Nelson. The job involved welding and fabricating large pieces of stainless steel to form a finished hopper.
The hopper consisted of five component parts, which needed to be welded together. When each side of the hopper was welded, it needed to be lifted and repositioned so the next side could be welded.
Mr Marshall was carrying out this task on his own, holding the larger side of the 133kg hopper in the air while the smaller side rested on a desk. The hopper slipped on the smooth desk and came down onto his hand, causing a crush injury and partial loss of his right thumb.
Learn more on the HSE website
HSE warns employers against delaying action
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a campaign urging employers to assess workplace noise and vibration risks and take action before workers suffer permanent ill health.
Around 15,000 workers develop hearing problems caused or made worse by work every year, while an estimated one in five workers is exposed to harmful levels of noise at work.
The effects can be permanent, with workers often unaware they are being harmed until symptoms begin to appear, by which time some damage may already be irreversible.
The new campaign urges employers to assess workplace noise and vibration risks, reduce exposure and protect workers from preventable ill health.
Launched during Bone and Joint Health Week, and building on HSE’s wider work to reduce Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), including the Prevention Programme’s HAVS Risk Reduction Pledge, the campaign highlights the importance of taking action before workers’ health is affected.
Visit the HSM website to read more.
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