A company has been fined £858,000 after an employee lost his arm after getting it stuck in an industrial food mixer.

Lee Simpson, 33, from Sheerness, lost the limb after getting sucked into the mixer in September last year.

It happened while he was working at David Wood Baking Limited's site in Dorset Road, Sheerness.

He was trying to remove filling ingredients from a paddle mixer, from which the contents could be removed at the front, and said he has been left depending on others since the incident.

Mr Simpson said: “Life has changed so much since the accident and I am doing everything I can to improve, but it will never be the same.

“Since my accident I have become dependent on others, primarily my family and fiancée, to complete daily activities for me, such as cooking and domestic tasks such as doing the laundry.”

The incident happened on September 27, 2021 at the Mill House site where David Wood Baking Limited makes sausage rolls, quiches and other food products.

"Life has changed so much..."

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the control measures in place to prevent contact with moving parts were "ineffective" as the guarding of the mixer was not replaced routinely after cleaning.

The ‘interlocking’ system was also defeated which meant the mixer would still operate without the front guard in place, putting employees, including Mr Simpson, at risk when operating it.

David Wood Bakery Limited pleaded guilty to breaches and was fined £858,000 and ordered to pay £8,000 costs at Medway Magistrates' Court yesterday. (Wednesday, December 21)

HSE Inspector Joanne Williams said: “A wide variety of work equipment and machinery is used across food production.

“Every year, a significant proportion of accidents, many of them serious and sometimes fatal, occur as a result of poorly guarded work equipment. To prevent and reduce the risk of serious or fatal injury adequate arrangements and systems of work are required.

“In the food and drink industries machinery and plant causes over 30% of fatal injuries and over 10% of major injuries.

“In this case this was a wholly avoidable incident, caused by the failure of the company to implement safe systems of work and a failure to identify the risks.

“Had the company ensured the interlocks were maintained and remained in working order, the machine could not have been used without the guard in place and this life-changing injury could not have occurred.”