Leisure firm fined after death of footballer electrocuted by floodlight
A leisure facilities management company has been fined after a man was electrocuted while playing football in Portsmouth.
Albert Xhediku, 34, had been playing five-a-side with his friends on the all-weather pitch at Mountbatten Leisure centre on 17 January 2016. After the ball went out of play Albert climbed a fence to collect it. As he did so, he came into contact with a floodlight which delivered the fatal shock. Despite efforts by his friends to resuscitate him, later that day he was pronounced dead at the local hospital.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the incident arose from worn and faulty wiring on the floodlight which Parkwood Community Leisure Ltd had failed to properly inspect and maintain. It was also found that this failing had been present for several years and no action had been taken to repair the equipment. This was despite a previous incident being reported to the leisure centre a month before Albert’s death when an off-duty police officer suffered an electric shock from the same equipment.
Read more on the HSE website.
Fleets urged to tackle drink-driving during World Cup
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now underway, leading road safety charity IAM RoadSmart is urging small businesses to ensure that business drivers are properly educated about the dangers of drink-driving.
With research estimating that England fans could consume an extra 55 million pints over the course of the tournament, the risk of drink-driving offences occurring is likely to rise considerably.
For companies whose workers drive on business, this presents a particular risk of employees still being under the influence of alcohol the day after an England or Scotland match, particularly as each of the teams’ group games are set to have a late-night, mid-week kick off for viewers in the UK.
Recent research conducted by IAM RoadSmart into existing drink-driving policies among small businesses uncovered a worrying lack of enforcement among fleets. While the findings showed that 52% of firms have experienced a drink-driving incident in the past three years, a further 35% of firms do not carry out weekly alcohol testing on their business drivers.
Learn more on the HSM website.
Esso fined £1 million after major gas leak at Fawley refinery
Esso has been fined £1 million after a major gas leak at Fawley Oil Refinery in Hampshire, following an investigation and subsequent prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive.
On 8 November 2022, there was a partial collapse of a large steel tower at the Fawley Refinery, causing the structure to slew and rupture pipework, resulting in the uncontrolled release of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The incident led to a loss of containment of approximately 2,400kg of LPG over a 33-hour period. It took just over 30 minutes for around 400kg of the gas to be released following the collapse.
Workers were in the vicinity at the time of the collapse and were exposed to the risk of serious injury from falling debris, as well as the potential for burns had the gas ignited. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Read more about the incident on the HSE website.
Half of workers skip essential HSE training
Data from Astutis has revealed that a growing number of UK employees are funding their own health and safety training from their own pockets.
The report revealed that 1 in every 10 employees funded their own training, raising serious concerns about under-investment and culture gaps across industries such as construction, logistics and manufacturing.
The report, which surveyed 920 workers, also found that nearly a third (31%) of UK workers said that their employer’s training budget was insufficient for their role or risk level.
Half of Brits (50%) also say that health and safety training is skipped due to a lack of time at work, showing that it isn’t treated as a priority.
One of the Learner Report’s biggest findings was that over half (51%) of employees said that a safer workplace is down to colleague behaviour, not rules or lack of knowledge.
For more on the research visit the HSM website.
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