A recycling firm has been fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 in costs after a worker’s jaw was shattered when a plastic pipe was thrown from a machine.

The man, from Chatham, was working for Kingsnorth Waste Management Ltd at the Kingsnorth Industrial Estate, in Hoo when the accident happened in August, 2010.

The piece was thrown out at high speed and struck him in his throat and under his chin. It broke both upper and lower jaw bones and burst his jaw hinges.

Early in its investigation, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that after the incident, there had been two further instances of plastic pipe being ejected as it was being sawn and striking the operators, including one where the worker was a 16-year-old trainee.

The firm admitted safety failings at Dartford Magistrates’ Court after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive.