Lunar Freezing and Cold Storage Company Limited has been fined £245,000 after an employee suffered serious injuries when he was pulled into machinery through a gap left by a missing safety guard.
The incident occurred on 19 August 2025 at the company’s fish processing premises in Peterhead, Scotland.
Worker injured while clearing machinery jam
The employee, then aged 30, was working as a chargehand when a box became jammed inside a rack loader cage.
Unable to reach the box from ground level, he entered the production line through a gap in the guarding without isolating the machinery.
He climbed onto a conveyor and attempted to release the jam before the machine restarted, pulling his right arm into the mechanism.
The worker was drawn further into the machine until his head contacted moving components.
Colleague stops machinery
A colleague heard the employee calling for help and isolated the power.
The injured worker was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with a fractured jaw and injuries to his chest and right arm.
He underwent surgery to insert metal plates into his jaw and remained in hospital for three days.
He returned to work on 29 September 2025 and has made a full recovery.
HSE identifies missing safety guard
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that fixed guarding had been removed during maintenance approximately two weeks before the incident and had not been replaced.
Employees had repeatedly used the resulting gap to access machinery when boxes became jammed.
Maintenance personnel had observed the missing guard, but it was not reinstated.
The company’s weekly maintenance checklist also omitted checks on the integrity of fixed guarding.
Company sentenced at Peterhead Sheriff Court
HSE concluded that the incident would have been prevented had the guarding remained in place, as access through the interlocked gate would have stopped the machinery.
Lunar Freezing and Cold Storage Company Limited pleaded guilty to breaches of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
At Peterhead Sheriff Court on 28 October 2026, the company was fined £245,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £18,375.
HSE Inspector Nicky Smith said: “This was a wholly preventable incident which left a worker seriously injured.
“A missing guard and an unchecked gap left the way open for a worker to be dragged into a machine.
“Guards must be kept in place, and checks must cover every guard, not just the electrical ones.”
