A reminder of the dangers of working at height has been put forward to public liability insurance holders after the prosecution of a company and its director.
Taylor Electrics (Manchester) and its Wigan-based director John Taylor each pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, with the business being fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,000. Mr Taylor was fined an additional £2,000.
Manchester Crown Court heard how Ian Gutteridge was fitting a giant necklace to a 140-year-old statue when the cherry picker he was working on overturned.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the machine had not been properly stabilised before it was used, with Mr Tomlinson dying in hospital the next day.
Sandra Tomlinson, HSE inspector, said that this incident could have been easily prevented had safety measures been taken.
Earlier this month, Corus UK was fined £100,000 after a mobile crane overturned, with the operator escaping with only minor injuries.