A Greater Manchester company has been fined for continually flouting health and safety laws.
Crest Engineering, of Stamford Street in Stalybridge, has been fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,003 at Trafford magistrates court after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences.
The charge came after the firm was found to have safety guards missing or not in use on several milling machines for over eight years, which illustrates the need for employers liability insurance.
David Norton, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), says the organisation deliberately removed the safety devices despite receiving formal warnings against doing so.
"Safety guards are there for a reason and, by not providing them, the company put the lives of its employees in danger. Factory work can be extremely dangerous and so it's vital that the risks are reduced to a minimum," he comments.
In related news, HSE inspector Mark Burton recently warned of the importance of safety measures after Earlestown company TJ & S Jenkinson was served with 19 enforcement notices between September 2004 and October 2008 and fined £55,000 as a result.