Four members of a farming family have been fined a total of £9,000 after a three-year-old boy needed plastic surgery when his foot was seriously injured on a farm where another boy died.
Ivan and Jane Hammersley and their sons, Christopher and Daniel Hammersley, appeared before Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on 7 May following the incident at White House Farm, near Ashbourne, in Derbyshire, on 21 September 2013.
The court was told it was the second incident involving a child at the farm. In 2009, two-year-old Robert Hammersley died after falling under the wheels of a tractor driven by his grandfather Ivan Hammersley.
An inquest later reached a conclusion that the death came about due to misadventure.
The second incident happened on September 21, 2013, at the farm. The toddler, who cannot be identified, was on the first floor of a barn with Christopher Hammersley, who was moving grain around using a pair of augers – a rotating screw inside a tube – when his foot was pulled into one.
He suffered deep lacerations to the top of his left foot which required plastic surgery and several nights in hospital.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was called and following an investigation decided to prosecute.
All four defendants pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Ivan Hammersley, 72, was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £500. Jane Hammersley, 66, was given a two year conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £500.
Christopher Hammersley, 43, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £500. Daniel Hammersley, 40, was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs of £500.
HSE inspector Stuart Parry said: “Agriculture has one of the highest fatal incident rates of any industry. It is also the only high-risk industry that has to deal with the frequent presence of children. Farms are homes as well as workplaces.
“Children should be kept in a safe place, such as a dedicated play area. Alternatively if they are observing farm work, it should be at a safe distance with a competent adult providing supervision, and that adult must not be the person undertaking the work task.”