A COMPANY has been fined £15,000 by a court following an accident which led to one of its employees losing a finger.

W E Roberts (Corrugated) Limited, of Cannon Bridge Works, Cannon Lane, Tonbridge, admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by failing to assess the risk to machine operators.

The court heard that employee Stephen Starr had been operating a die-cutting machine at the company's site at Grove Road, Northfleet, on July 12 last year when he was injured.

Mr Starr, then aged 17, suffered crush injuries to his right hand and surgeons were forced to cut off one of his fingers.

David Fussell, HM Inspector of Safety and Health, who investigated the accident, welcomed the court's decision.

He said: "The level of fine sends a strong message to employers that they face severe penalties if they fail to adequately control the risks to their employees.

"W E Roberts (Corrugated) Limited failed to assess the risk to machine operators, yet this accident could have been avoided if they had simply carried out a risk assessment for the die-cutting machine and implemented the cheap and simple safety improvements that were implemented after Mr Starr's accident."

Mr Fussell said that being just 17, and suffering from learning difficulties and dyslexia, Mr Starr lacked experience and an awareness of the dangers involved in his task.

He added: "The company failed to ensure that he was supervised to a higher level than that of other employees."

The company was also ordered to pay £2,061 court costs.