A man has been sentenced to 18 weeks in prison after a worker received serious injuries from an electric shock.

Swansea Crown Court heard that, on 12 March 2014, Mr Hearne, under instruction from George Jones, sustained serious injuries whilst plugging a tyre stripping machine into a wall socket. The incident, which took place at Carew Cars, Carew Airfield, Pembrokeshire, could easily have led to a fatality.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the electrical installation at the unit in Carew Airfield operated by George Jones as part of his scrap metal business was unsafe and was more suited to a domestic premise. The socket in use was in poor condition with exposed wires. The roof of the building had holes in it and there was evidence of water ingress on the wall behind the socket which contributed to the incident.

George William Edward Jones of Strawberry Fields, Pembrokeshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison to run concurrently with his existing sentence.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Anne Marie Orrells said: “This case highlights the importance of regular proactive maintenance and inspection of work equipment, including electrical installations, to ensure that they do not deteriorate to the extent that it puts people at risk.

“In this case, George Jones failed to effectively maintain equipment and it could have resulted in a fatal injury.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We prevent work-related death, injury and ill health through regulatory actions that range from influencing behaviours across whole industry sectors through to targeted interventions on individual businesses. These activities are supported by globally recognised scientific expertise. www.hse.gov.uk^[1]
2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ ^[2]
3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk