Robert McBride Ltd fined £480k over worker's fire injuries

The company were fined at Beverley Magistrates' Court on 7 April

A firm has been fined almost half a million pounds after a batch of hairspray caught fire, scorching a factory worker's arm.

The 31-year-old man suffered 13% burns to his right arm after a spark ignited flammable vapours.

Beverley Magistrates' Court fined Robert McBride Ltd £480,000 and ordered them to pay costs of about £13,400.

The company had pleaded guilty after the accident at its Hull factory in August 2017.

Robert McBride Limited said it deeply regretted "the injury caused to our employee and we reiterate that no blame attaches to him".

The company said it had entered a guilty plea at the first opportunity and health and safety was of "paramount importance to our business".

The fine and costs would be paid within 14 days, it added.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted an investigation into the fire at the now closed factory.

The investigation and court hearing found the company breached regulations on the making of dangerous substances and explosive gases.

Engulfed in flames

The court heard the worker was on shift at the firm's factory, in West Carr Lane, Hull, as a batch of hairspray was being mixed in a large stainless steel vessel.

Flammable vapours were coming off the liquid which was being heated at the time.

The man was putting powder into the vessel through its lid using a metal scoop when some of the vapours caught fire and engulfed his torso.

HSE's probe found an extraction lid on the vessel could not stop the build-up of a flammable atmosphere which a spark then ignited.

More than 100 jobs were lost after the McBride factory in Hull closed in March 2019.

The company closed following what it said were mounting losses in the aerosol industry, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

McBride continues to produce a range of cleaning products from its five divisions and has offices in 12 countries.