Firm fined after coal plant death

A Durham-based energy support services company has been fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £35,000 in costs after a man died at its coal processing plant in Immingham, north east Lincolnshire.

Hargreaves (UK) Services Ltd of Esh Winning, Durham, pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 at Grimsby Crown Court after Alan Noddle was run over by a loading shovel on July 20, 2007.

Mr Noddle, 48, from Carcroft, Doncaster, worked as a maintenance fitter for Hargreaves' sister company, Norec Ltd, and was working at the Hargreaves' Astra site at Immingham Docks when the tragedy occurred.

He died after being struck by a large loading shovel used to transfer coal from one area of the plant to another. The driver of the vehicle could not see Mr Noddle as he walked across the stockyard because the large bucket on the loading shovel blocked his view.

After the hearing, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Geoffrey Clark said: "This is a tragic case where a man died as a result of dangerous practices at the site. The loading shovel severely obscured the driver's view, yet despite this it was common practice for employees to be allowed to walk in the area where these machines were being operated."

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