THIS is the shocking moment a worker was crushed by a digger in a horror accident on the first day of his new job.
CCTV footage show the horror incident at a recycling plant in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
The Health and Safety Executive, which released the clip, said the man is “lucky to be alive”.
Wheeldon Brothers Waste Limited has subsequently been fined £250,000 in relation to the accident at its site off Mossdown Road in Royton, on July 28, 2021.
The worker is seen wearing orange high-vis trousers and walking in a yard beside a mound of waste at a depot.
The truck approaches behind him and he’s struck by the loader’s shovel before disappearing under the vehicle.
The HSE – the national regulator for workplace health and safety – said the unnamed man, who was 40 at the time, was hand picking waste.
It said: “The digger drove over the man and had to reverse when the alarm was raised by nearby colleagues.”
It went on to say the man, now 44, suffered a bone fracture, as well as muscle and nerve damage to his leg.
The statement continued: “The incident happened on his first day in employment as a waste picker.”
An investigation was launched by the HSE, which subsequently found the victim was hand picking waste “after the conveyor belt they used had been removed from use after it was significantly damaged in a fire a few months earlier”.
“Employees were therefore required to work directly on the ground, near moving vehicles with no separation between them, putting the workers in considerable danger.”
The HSE said there was “no risk assessment and a lack of supervision” for workers on the ground.
It added: “HSE guidance states that pedestrians and moving vehicles should be segregated when waste is being manually sorted.
“A safety bulletin was also issued a few months after this incident with specific guidance on the use of wheeled loading shovels.”
“There was no risk assessment for this altered work activity after the fire and supervision and monitoring was inadequate,” added the statement.
The man spent a week in hospital and has since found work at a different firm.
The company, based in Bury, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
At Manchester magistrates court, the company was fined £250,000 and ordered to pay £4102.32 costs.
HSE principal inspector Lisa Bailey said: “This man is lucky to be alive.”
She added that such incidents are “easily avoidable”.
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