Council fined after school technician loses finger

Adi Soday lost a finger when using a circular bench saw

A council has to pay more than £20,000 after a lack of proper training led to a school technician losing a finger when using a circular bench saw.

Adi Soday was a technician at The Forest School in Horsham when he had his right index finger sliced off in June 2022.

West Sussex County Council was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £4,294 in costs and a victim surcharge of £190 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.

A council spokesperson said the authority had accepted responsibility for its part and had pleaded guilty to the health and safety breach.

The Forest School has been contacted for comment.

Mr Soday, who was 27 at the time, worked in the design and technology department at the school and had been cutting pieces of wood before a lesson.

According to the HSE, while pushing wood through the saw, Mr Soday felt a pain in his right index finger and immediately turned off the machine.

When he looked down, he saw his finger lying on the bench.

HSE inspector Russell Beckett said: "Workers must be trained properly when using high risk woodworking such as bench circular saws.

"This incident could have been prevented had West Sussex County Council provided Mr Soday with proper training."

West Sussex County Council was fined and ordered to pay the costs at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on 3 July.

Mr Soday had used the saw many times but had not been trained on how to use it safely, the HSE said.

A council spokesperson said "immediate action" was taken at the time of the incident to reduce the risk of anything similar happening in its schools.

They said this included reaffirming that all schools with such workshops understood their duties and supplied evidence of compliance to the council.

They added: "Schools are required to provide assurance that staff using equipment and machinery have been adequately trained and that proper records are held.

"The council’s health and safety team conduct visits to monitor compliance and support schools to meet their obligations.”