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Bolton fabric firm in court over finger loss

The machine at Tame Valley Padding Co. Ltd. in Farnworth which caused the workers injuriesA Bolton fabric manufacturer has been sentenced after one of its employees lost a finger when his hand became trapped by a rotating cog.

Tame Valley Padding Co. Ltd. was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the 27-year-old suffered injuries to his index and ring fingers when his left hand caught in the mechanism.

His index finger had to be amputated to below the top knuckle due to the extent of the injuries he sustained at the factory at Albion Mill on Cawdor Street, Farnworth, on 23 May 2011.

On 20 July, Trafford Magistrates' Court heard that the worker had been trying to remove a build-up of fibre in a machine used to produce reels of fabric.

The HSE investigation revealed he did so whilst the machine was still operating - a regular practice by Tame Valley employees on the machine in question.

The company has since installed a new safety system which cuts the power if gates leading to the rotating mechanism are opened.

Tame Valley Padding Co. Ltd. pleaded guilty to a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 by failing to prevent access to the dangerous parts of the machine. The company was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay £5,577 in prosecution costs.

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