Bernard Matthew’s Food Ltd was fined £400,000 at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court - Credit: Archant

A company has been fined £400,000 following two separate incidents at its Suffolk site where employees were seriously injured with one being left permanently paralysed. 

Bernard Matthews Food Ltd was fined at a hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court after employee Colin Frewin was left paralysed and spent six months in hospital following an incident at the company’s plant in Holton, near Halesworth. 

Mr Frewin suffered multiple serious injuries, including a pierced left lung, several broken ribs, four fractured vertebrae and a spinal bleed.

He was put in an induced coma for three weeks and is now classed as a T6 paraplegic and has been diagnosed with autonomic dysreflexia.

The court head how the 54-year-old suffered the injuries on January 28, 2020, when he had been tasked with cleaning a large screw conveyor used to move poultry turkeys along and chill them.

While working on the gantry between the spin chillers he noticed a turkey stuck at the bottom of it.

As he attempted to dislodge the turkey using a squeegee, Mr Frewin was drawn into the machine. It was only when a colleague noticed Mr Frewin was missing from the gantry and heard his cries for help, the emergency stop was pulled.

The Bernard Matthews site in Holton - Credit: Charlotte Bond

The Health and Safety Executive investigation found an unsafe system of work meant the chillers remained running as Mr Frewin went to dislodge the turkey.

In a victim's personal statement, Mr Frewin described how his horrific injuries left him feeling “isolated” and in need of daily care.

“I will never walk again and so I will be in a wheelchair permanently,” he said.

“I now have a suprapubic catheter, which was inserted via an operation.

“The district nurse has to give me bowel care every day and visits me daily at home.

“I also suffer from AD – a condition which is life threatening, as my body doesn’t register if I’m ill.

“I have moved from my flat overlooking the sea, to a bungalow.

“However, I miss seeing the sea and being close to the seafront and all the amenities.

“I feel isolated as I cannot go out when I want as I need people to assist me.”

There was another incident at the same plant five months earlier, on August 12, 2019, when a turkey deboning line had to be shut down after developing a fault.

As a result, 34-year-old Adriano Gama, along with the rest of the employees, were moved to a surplus production line to continue the process.

Whilst working on the surplus production line, one of the wings became stuck in the belt under the machine. Mr Gama attempted to push it out of the way, but as he did do, his gloved hand became caught in the exposed sprocket of the conveyer and was drawn into the machine.

He was eventually freed and taken to hospital having suffered a broken arm and severe damage to the muscles in his forearm.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that on the day of the incident pre-start checks were only completed on the production lines that were regularly used.

Therefore, when workers were asked to move to the surplus deboning line there was no system in place to ensure that it was checked prior to it being put into operation.

The investigation uncovered that two safety guards had been removed and a team leader responsible for the production lines had verbally reported this issue to the engineering team, but it was not followed up by either party.

Bernard Matthews Food Ltd, of Sparrowhawk Road, Halesworth, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The company was fined a total of £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,000.

A Bernard Matthews spokesman said: "We are deeply sorry for the incidents that occurred in 2019 and 2020 and the subsequent injuries sustained by our colleagues.

"The management team were profoundly shocked that fellow workers going about their daily duties could be injured in this way.

"The safety of all our people will always be at the very heart of our business and the company has made significant improvements in recent years in order to keep everyone safe.

"Health and safety leadership has been strengthened with new senior managers being brought into the business with a clear and consistent health and safety strategy to work to.

"More than £2.5m has been spent on safe new machinery and best-in-class safety training is now consistently delivered, as evidenced by our status as a certified Institute of Safety & Health training provider.

"We absolutely recognise the critical importance of promoting a positive safety culture and of making sure that there are clear, unequivocal safety systems and procedures in place at all times, and we’ll ensure this culture is maintained both now and in the future."

Siobhan Middleton, Local Democracy Reporter