A Stockport-based shot-blasting firm has been fined after a worker's legs were set on fire, leaving him scarred for life, painters liability insurance holders have been told.
Rust Proofing Company (Manchester) was fined £1,003 and ordered to pay costs of £2,997 after it pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of its employees.
Trafford Magistrate's Court heard how the worker received severe burns to his legs in April 2008 when a can of paint thinner, which he was pouring onto a fire to get it going, ignited and caused an explosion.
The court was also told that the company regularly allowed employees to light fires around cast-iron radiators to speed up the process of removing powder coatings.
Last year, public liability insurance holders were told that Thomson Sandblast of Great Harwood was fined £26,000 for using a banned substance in its work.