Mill Hill Quarries have been ordered to pay £20,000 in fines and costs plus £15 victim surcharge after an employee at Trevillet roofing, walling and hard landscaping slate quarry in Cornwall had his arm torn off at the shoulder in an accident involving a conveyor belt.

Bodmin magistrates heard in October how Scott Anderson had been working next to a conveyor belt, sorting slate for sawing. The belt had been sliding for about a week, it was reported. Material had to be cleared from underneath it. On 21 August the guard that was normally on a tail drum was removed. The next day, Mr Anderson put his hand into the drum. His sleeve got caught. There was a shout and he was seen lying on the floor with his severed arm on the conveyor. It was not been possible for surgeons to sew it back on.

The company, based in Tavistock, Devon, pleaded guilty to failing to ensure Mr Anderson’s welfare at work by not providing and maintaining safe plant and systems of work under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and for failing to comply with the Quarries Regulations 1999 that require companies to ensure their employees have the competencies required for their job.

Nathan Peacey, prosecuting on behalf of the Health & Safety Executive, told Bodmin magistrates that Mr Anderson, who joined the company in May 2004, had been unaware of the dangers he faced and that the levels of competency of the manager and employees fell below industry standards.