AN ENGINEEERING firm has been fined £10,000 over an horrific accident that almost killed an employee.

G&P Machine Shop, of Argent Road, Rushenden, near Sheerness, was also ordered to pay the £6,450 costs of the investigation into the matter.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Peter Underwood, of Gainsborough Close, Rainham, was dragged into a horizontal boring machine by the arm. He managed to turn off the machinery with his other hand but suffered a serious injury to his right arm.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that he nearly died," said prosecutor Richard Matthews.

The firm admitted breaching Health and Safety regulations in August, but Sittingbourne magistrates declined to sentence because the maximum fine they could impose was £20,000. The Crown Court had the power to impose an unlimited fine.

Mr Matthews said 54-year-old Mr Underwood became caught in the rotating part of the machine on January 31 because it did not have a guard on it. It was the firm’s responsibility, he said, to have a safe system of work in place.

"Regrettably, the company in this case didn’t do so," he said. "To be fair to the company, since this incident they have put in all necessary steps."

Mr Underwood suffered an extremely damaged arm, including broken bones. "He has made a good recovery and has got some use back in his arm," said Mr Matthews.

"He has been with the business for something like 13 years. He would like, and the company, would like him to go back to work one day."

Miss Recorder Vivecia Cameron said Mr Underwood was an experienced operator of the machine, having been trained at Chatham dockyard.

"It is trite to say that this was perhaps an accident waiting to happen because of the dangerous condition of the lax system of working and lack of suitable guards in place at the time," she said.

The judge said Mr Underwood also had a lax habit of using a pen to clear material in the machine’s channel.

"Fortunately, he seems to have made a remarkable recovery," she said. "He faces more surgery on his nearly severed arm."

Recorder Cameron said the financial penalty had to reflect the gravity of the offence and the means of the company to pay. It was a small concern, she said, which provided much-needed employment in a depressed area. The firm’s net profit for the last tax year was £34,000 out of a turnover of £2m.