MM Flowers Limited has been fined £134,000 after a worker suffered a life-changing injury, resulting in a leg amputation, at its Huntingdon processing facility. The incident occurred on 4 February 2023 when an employee became trapped by moving cargo, highlighting critical failures in workplace safety. The company was also ordered to pay £4,908 in costs at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on 10 April 2026.
Unsafe System of Work Led to Life-Changing Injury
The serious incident involved employee Andy Hazelden at the Alconbury Weald site, where he was assisting with the manual unloading of a delivery trailer. Cargo had become lodged on the trailer, prompting Mr. Hazelden and two colleagues to intervene to free it. During this process, Mr. Hazelden stepped onto a roller deck where an unaddressed 10cm gap existed.
As the cargo was freed, a skid slid from the trailer onto the roller deck, striking Mr. Hazelden’s left leg, which had become trapped in the gap.
The 60-year-old sustained severe injuries that necessitated multiple medical procedures, ultimately leading to a through-knee amputation. Mr. Hazelden described feeling “genuinely terrified” during the immediate aftermath, fearing he would bleed out. His injuries have profoundly altered his life, leaving him reliant on a wheelchair and his wife’s care, and preventing him from continuing his beloved motorcycle riding hobby. He reflected on feeling “helpless and undignified” during his hospital stay and the challenge of learning to mobilise with a wheelchair and prosthetic limbs, noting a significant change in his identity.
An investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uncovered that MM Flowers Limited had failed to ensure the safety of its employees during the unloading of aircraft skids from delivery vehicles. The investigation revealed that workers were routinely required to physically intervene when loads became stuck, exposing them to significant risks from moving cargo. Crucially, the 10cm gap in the roller deck, where Mr. Hazelden’s leg became trapped, had not been identified or addressed by the company, despite posing a clear hazard.
The HSE’s findings highlighted a clear breach of health and safety regulations. Employers are mandated to implement suitable arrangements for managing health and safety, including designing effective risk control systems and ensuring that safe systems of work are consistently followed. MM Flowers Limited, located at Enterprise Campus, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HSE Inspector Tom Pouncey commented on the case, emphasising that health and safety law exists to protect workers and allow them to return home healthy. He stated that Mr. Hazelden’s life had been “severely impacted” due to his employer’s failure to fulfil their duty.
Inspector Pouncey further explained that serious incidents often arise when everyday work activities are not properly assessed, and unsafe practices are permitted to persist. He specifically noted that employees were exposed to risk by being required to manually intervene with stuck loads and by the presence of an unprotected gap in their working area.
The inspector concluded that had the company identified these evident risks and implemented a robust, safe system of work, Mr. Hazelden’s devastating, life-changing injury could have been entirely prevented. This case serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of thorough risk assessments and proactive safety measures in all workplace environments to safeguard employee well-being.
This story was originally published by the Health and Safety Executive.
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David leads the content delivery team at HSE Network and handles the day to day management of advertorial and editorial content campaigns. David has experience in safety content creation across written and podcast-based mediums and has been working with HSE Network for over 5 years.
