Accident at work causes worker to injure fingers

A man may seek compensation after losing parts of two fingers in a workplace accident.

The staff member, who has not been named, was trying to repair a drying unit at Roydon Granulation in May last year when his hand came into contact with a high-speed fan.

As well as suffering the partial amputation of two digits, he sustained damage to a further two.

Following the incident, an investigation concluded that the firm's procedure for repairing the machine was inadequate.

According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Richard Clarke, incidents such as this happen far too often.

He added: "One of the factory's employees suffered serious injuries because basic health and safety procedures were not followed."

According to the HSE, around 246,000 reportable workplace accidents occurred over the course of 2008-09. While this was a fall from the 299,000 of the previous year, safety standards must still be improved, it said.