Hinckley company fined after worker had skin ripped off hand

Sharon Chaplin's hand was drawn between the two blue conveyor belts

A workwear company in Leicestershire has been fined £400,000 after an employee had the skin ripped off the palm of her hand by a machine.

Sharon Chaplin was working an evening shift at Johnsons Textile Services in Burbage, Hinckley, on 16 December 2021.

The mother-of-two, 51, from Barwell, suffered the injury when her left hand was drawn between two conveyor belts as she tried to clean a sensor.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it was "easily preventable".

An investigation by the government agency found Johnsons had inadequately guarded machinery and did not have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for the machinery that caused the injury.

The company also had inadequate health and safety management systems in place, according to the HSE.

The HSE found Johnsons Textile Services had made a series of health and safety failings

Nicholas Moreby, a HSE inspector, said: "This injury was easily preventable by applying known standards of machinery guarding and the risk should have been identified.

"Employers should make sure they properly assess risk and apply effective control measures to minimise the risk from dangerous parts of machinery."

Johnsons Textile Services, of Logix Road, pleaded guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

The company was fined £400,000 and was ordered to pay £5,919 in costs at a hearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court on 12 July.