A speaker company has been fined after a worker broke an arm in an unguarded machine.

Mark Mann was working at the British headquarters of loudspeaker company Bowers and Wilkins in Dale Avenue, Worthing, in November last year when the incident happened.

He had his right arm through a gap in the machine when its cooling cycle stopped and the gap closed, fracturing the upper bones and causing nerve damage.

Safety failings Mr Mann, who needed a plate inserted to help heal the break and was unable to return to work for seven months, has since been made redundant.

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The incident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted B andWGroup for safety failings.

The firm was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £6,978 in costs after admitting single breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

HSE found the company had done an assessment of the risks involved in using the machine but had only considered burn injuries rather than any danger from the moving parts.

It also found there was no guarding on the machine to prevent employees getting too close to the dangerous part of the equipment while in operation.

HSE, Inspector Graham Goodenough, said: “This case shows the importance of carrying out a thorough assessment of all the risks involved when using machinery.

“What happened to Mr Mann was easily avoidable and shortly after the incident the company did fit a suitable guard to the machine that would have prevented it happening.

“The HSE provides a wide range of free guidance to help companies carry out risk assessments to ensure equipment is safe for their employees to use.”