Firm cleared after man lost arm in work accident

A COMPANY whose employee had to have his arm amputated after it became stuck in machinery has been found not guilty of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees.

- PHILIP DEWEY

Liam Haydon, who was 22 at the time, was forced to have his left arm amputated as a result of the incident, on February 16, 2021.

The plant owned by Kepak Group Ltd, where animals are slaughtered and processed, employs 900 people, with 60 working in the hygiene department, including Mr Haydon.

On the day of the incident, Mr Haydon, an employee for almost two years, had been working in what the court heard was called the “lamb boning hall” where cuts of lamb are prepared and where extensive cleaning is required through the night.

A trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court previously heard Mr Haydon used a ‘Speco Solids-Liquids Separation’ machine - a device to separate fats and liquids covered by a cage.

On February 16, 2021, Mr Haydon made his way to the room containing the machine and could see that the cage around it was not secured, the prosecution said.

Prosecutor Alan Fuller said: “He lifted it in readiness for cleaning, and could see the machine wasn’t running, and presumed it had been switched off by an engineer.