Stone company fined after slabs fall on to workers

A stone company has been fined thousands of pounds after two workers were injured by slabs that fell on them.

Steven Constable, 54, and Struan Dunsmore, 31, both from Ipswich, were working at Bespoke Stone's workshop in the town in 2022.

They sustained what a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector described as "horrific" injuries when three slabs of quartz stone fell on them.

Bespoke Stone, of Dales Road, appeared at Peterborough Magistrates' Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was fined £6,600 and ordered to pay costs of £4,875.40.

According to the HSE, on 17 June 2022 the workers were preparing to lift one of the slabs on to a saw bed when three of the slabs fell on to them.

Mr Constable sustained multiple bone fractures and soft tissue damage that required a number of operations.

It left him in hospital for 12 weeks and he has been unable to work for more than two years.

Mr Dunsmore sustained bruising, which required him to take time off work.

The HSE said its investigation found Bespoke Stone's handling and storage of slabs was "unsafe in that the material was not secure".

"The restraint system provided did not fit around larger sizes of material," it said.

"The company also failed to accurately report the injuries sustained by Mr Constable and the time taken off work by Mr Dunsmore under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations."

CCTV footage caught the moment the slabs fell on the workers.

"Bespoke Stone Ltd failed to grasp the importance of safe handling and storage of stone materials in stone masonry, with employees regularly working within the hazard zone of slabs during operations within its workshop," HSE inspector Jessica Flint said after the case.

"The CCTV footage makes clear how serious this incident was, with one of the employees sustaining a number of horrific injuries which have affected his ability to return to work."

Bespoke Stone, which has been approached for comment, was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £190.

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