Worker issued compensation over hand injury

A company has been ordered to issue compensation to an employee who suffered damage to his hand.

Bakkavor Foods had to pay £2,000 to the individual as a result of the accident, which occurred in April 2008.

During a night shift, the staff member reached into a screw conveyor used to shred cabbage to try to remove bits that were blocking the machine.

The device had not been properly isolated and as soon as the blockage had been taken out, it began operating again, crushing the man's hand.

As a result of the injuries he sustained, the worker had to take three weeks off.

The machine had been in an unsafe state for at least six months.

Bakkavor Foods - which is part of a group of firms employing 19,000 people around the world - pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws in relation to the accident during a recent hearing at Grantham Magistrates' Court.