NEWS


DEFENCE COMPANY FINED £800,000 AFTER MAN SHOT ON MOD RANGE


A defence technology company has been fined £800,000 after an employee was shot during testing of ammunition at a Ministry of Defence (MoD) range in South Wales.


The father-of-two was left paralysed below the shoulders after being shot by a 5.56mm bullet fired from a gun, 570 metres away. The incident happened on 25 March 2021 during a NATO ammunition quality assurance trial at the MoD Ranges in Pendine.


The now 42-year-old’s role had been to check the impact of bullets on a metal target and was in front of the target when the bullet was fired.


An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found QinetiQ Limited had failed to adequately risk assess the trial activity. As a result they did not have adequate precautions in place to ensure that no one was near the target when the rounds were fired.


QinetiQ Limited of Cody Technology Park, Ively Road, Farnborough, Hampshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety At Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £800,000 and ordered


FINES FOR COMPANY AND DIRECTOR AFTER MAN INJURED DURING EXCAVATION WORK


A company and its director have been fined a combined £18,000 after a man was injured during excavation work in West Sussex.


JHE Construction and Jordan Hay-Ellis pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws following the incident on 23 February 2023.


The company had been contracted to complete a full barn conversion, which included the installation of a new septic tank. In order to install the tank, workers had to dig an excavation approximately three metres deep. Edward Keely, 30, along with two other men, had been tasked with doing the work at Lone Oak Farm.


The three men were in the hole preparing to install a concrete base for the septic tank to sit on when the walls collapsed. Mr Keely was struck by falling soil which resulted in multiple bone fractures and required for him to be dug out.


An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that inadequate precautions had been taken to prevent the collapse of the excavation, yet the men were expected to work in it.


9


HSE guidance advises that all work of this nature should be correctly planned, including whether any temporary support structures should be used. This may also include battering the excavation sides to make it safer. You can read more about HSE guidance here.


JHE Construction Limited, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £2,612 in costs at Brighton Magistrates Court on 24 March 2025.


Jodran Hay-Ellie, 33, of Icarus Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 22 (1) of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs.


After the hearing, HSE inspector Nathan Kent said: “The risk associated with excavation collapse is well understood within the construction industry and this incident was easily foreseeable.


“All excavation work should be supported or battered back. Failure to do so in this case resulted in a young man sustaining very serious injuries. HSE will not hesitate to take action against companies which do not do all they can to keep people safe.”


WWW.TOMORROWSHS.COM


to pay £8,365 in costs at Llanelli Magistrates Court on 3 April 2025.


HSE principal specialist inspector Stuart Charles said of the employee: “His life and those of his wife and two children have been devastated by the severe injuries he has suffered.


“Simple and inexpensive steps could have been taken which would have prevented this incident.


“This case shows employers the importance of continually assessing the way they work and not just accepting historical practices.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44