Goat farm in court
A goat farm has been fined for safety breaches after a farm worker (53) was run over and fatally wounded.
Yorkshire Dairy Goats in the UK appeared before Hull Crown Court in connection with the incident in recent days.
The court heard that on August 1st, 2018, an employee of Yorkshire Dairy Goats, was struck by a reversing telescopic materials handler vehicle (telehandler) whilst working at St Helen’s Farm in York.
She was seriously injured and airlifted to Hull Royal Infirmary, where she died later that day.
A Health and Safety Executive-led investigation found that when the employee had finished milking the goats, she walked through a corridor.
She stepped out into the path of the reversing telehandler. The driver was unable to see the worker, so could not act, and the vehicle then struck her.
Fines
Yorkshire Dairy Goats of Seaton Ross, East Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The judge fined the company £180,000 and ordered it to pay £20,000 in costs (total: £200,000; circa €233,500).
Speaking following the hearing, HSE inspector, Sarah Taylor said:
“Pedestrians and vehicles need to be kept apart at all worksites and this includes agriculture.
“This incident could so easily have been avoided by simply segregating vehicles and pedestrians.”
Man in court over silage clamp
Meanwhile, a County Londonderry businessman has appeared in court for eight separate water pollution offences.
Norman Menary (69), with an address at Brough Road, Castledawson, Magherafelt, came before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court in Ballymena on Friday, May 6th, 2022.
Menary pleaded guilty, and the judge handed him a fine of £10,000, plus a £15 offender levy.
The court heard that on December 5th, 2018, Water Quality Inspectors (WQIs), acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), responded to a report of water pollution.
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