A woodworker who lost his arm because he did not wait until a big circular saw blade had stopped turning, even though he had turned it off, should be a warning to anyone who uses circular saws.

Brian Morris, 59, from Llanbadarn Fynnyd, was working at Stagecraft Display Ltd’s factory just outside Llandrindod Wells when the incident happened. Brian has since died, although not as a direct result of this incident.

Brian had finished sawing for the day and his last task after an 11-hour shift was to clean the saw and saw well.

He had stopped the machine and opened the door of the well while the blade was still running down. He was on one knee blowing air into the well to clear the dust. At the same time a forklift truck drove into the factory and he turned his head to look.

As he did so the still moving blade caught the sleeve of his work jacket and cut his right arm. Although he managed to pull himself free, the arm was almost wholly severed.

He was taken to hospital, where he remained for a month, but doctors were unable to reattach his arm successfully and it was eventually amputated below the elbow.

Stagecraft Display Ltd, of Esgair Draenllwyn, Llaithddu, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, ended up in front of Llandrindod Wells Magistrates’ Court on 21 January. It was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £11,865 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act etc 1974.

A Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that although the machine was fitted with an interlock that stops power to the saw when the door to the saw well is opened, the saw took more than 30 seconds to stop completely.

The court was also told that a self-employed machine maintenance engineer inspected the saw three months before the incident and told one of the company’s managers that it should be taken out of service or fitted with a brake which would stop the blade much sooner.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Damian Corbett said employees should not be able to gain access to machinery while blades were still spinning. He said all employers have a duty to ensure that this cannot happen.