Shropshire farm fined £16,000 after worker injured by charging bull
Bosses at a Shropshire dairy farm have been fined £16,000 after a worker was seriously injured by a charging bull.
T.N. Beeston and Son, of Moreton Hall Farm, Moreton Say, Market Drayton, was hit with the fine after pleading guilty to a health and safety breach.
Kidderminster Magistrates Court was told the incident took place on August 23, 2016.
It heard how a 28-year-old employee of T. N. Beeston and Son had entered a shed in which the cows were kept with the purpose of clearing it out.
But while in the shed he was struck by a dairy bull.
The worker, who had started work at the farm a year beforehand, suffered a serious leg injury which required an operation.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the mature bull was housed with cows in a cubicle shed.
The court was told farm workers had to enter the shed three times a day to clear it out, while the bull was loose in the same enclosure.
The investigation found that a suitable bull pen, with means of restraint, was not provided on the farm to ensure workers did not have to enter an area occupied by the bull.
A spokesman for the HSE said there were warning signs that the bull was a risk.
Aggressive
He said: “Mature dairy bulls are large animals and can be unpredictable and aggressive.
“The farm’s risk assessment identified a risk from the unrestrained bull but failed to identify adequate controls, even though there were clear signs that the bull was getting more difficult to handle.”
T. N. Beeston and Son pleaded guilty to breaching section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Magistrates fined the company £16,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £3,079.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Wendy Campbell warned farm owners to ensure that workers do not face similar risks in their job.
She said: “Farmers have a responsibility to assess risks from their cattle and provide suitable housing and handling facilities to ensure that bulls are excluded from areas where they or their employees work.
“Farm workers should never enter an enclosure when a bull is loose.”
