The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a waste management company after a worker suffered burns to his face and body after the crowbar he was using came into contact with a live electrical conductor. In the incident on 14 July 2021, the man was moving heavy duty electrical cables with a metal crowbar on a mobile elevating working platform when the bar came into contact with the live conductor, causing an electrical explosion at Copper Hill industrial estate, Ermine Street, Barkston Heath, Lincolnshire. As well as suffering serious burns, the explosion caused the man to fall from the platform and sustain a broken left arm, fractured ribs and dislocated kneecap. The worker had been contracted by New Earth Solutions (West) Limited, trading as Mid UK Recycling, to work at the firm’s recycling plant at Copper Hill industrial estate. An investigation by HSE into the incident found this task was not part of the normal workload for the injured worker and that he had not received any training with regards to undertaking electrical work.  The task had not been properly planned nor risk assessed and the electrical cables were not isolated before work began. In addition, the level of supervision provided was inadequate and safety devices on the electrical supply had been set inappropriately, prioritising continuity of supply over safety of the electrical circuit. New Earth Solutions (West) Limited, of Station Road, Caythorpe, Grantham, Lincolnshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £12,466.60 in costs at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on 10 May 2024. HSE inspector Tim Nicholson said: “This incident could so easily have been avoided by properly planning the task, ensuring that all workers involved were suitably competent and making sure that electrical conductors were isolated before the work began. “Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.” This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Jayne Wilson and supported by HSE paralegal officer Ellen Garbutt.

Immingham-based Casper Chartering Limited has bought the cargo vessel MV VESPER from Norwegian owners.

MV Vesper is the latest vessel to join Casper’s growing fleet, which now has seven ships. Built in 2006, Vesper is 88.60m long and is berthed at Douglas in the Isle of Man, from where she trades within the North Sea and Mediterranean Sea alongside the rest of the fleet. Pete Buffam, managing director of Casper Chartering Limited, said: “It has been an incredibly busy start to the second quarter of this year, with our fleet spread right across our trading range. Just last month, we ensured the safe delivery of ocean freight including urea, steel coils and grain to several ports such as Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Egypt and Turkey. “We are very grateful for the guidance provided by the team at Andrew Jackson Solicitors who were able to move quickly on the purchase of MV Vesper. She is already providing much needed support and has recently returned from the German Port of Mukran, one of our regular trading routes, to transport grain back to Europe.” Dominic Ward, senior partner and head of shipping and transport at Andrew Jackson, added: “It has been a pleasure to assist Casper Chartering on its latest vessel purchase. Having worked with the Casper Group for several years, we are particularly delighted to see them strengthen their position as one of the UK’s leading cargo vessel operators.”

Businesses are being asked to share their views on what the priorities should be for their nearest town or city centre. The questions being asked in a new poll being conducted by the three regional South Yorkshire Chambers of Commerce in the South Yorkshire Quarterly Economic Survey. Wherever they are based across South Yorkshire, respondents will have an opportunity to outline what they think needs to be improved in their local urban core and where further investment is needed. Among other things, the survey will canvass their views on the cleanliness, safety, green spaces, retail offer and cultural scene of the nearest town or city centre, while also asking them to identify their top three priorities for making it a better place to do business. They will also be encouraged to highlight any examples (from around the country) of places that can serve as an inspiration for South Yorkshire and its ambitions. Urging businesses to complete The Town and City Centre Survey, the three South Yorkshire Chambers (those being the respective networks for Doncaster, Sheffield and Barnsley & Rotherham) issued the following joint statement: “By the very nature of what we do as networks, we are always interacting with businesses and, in the process, ask for their views on a myriad of topics. While there is a wide range of issues that concern our members, one thing that often comes up, totally unprompted, is the wellbeing and relative prosperity of the town and city centres we have here in South Yorkshire. “We know that this is a matter close to the hearts of many local businesspeople, which is why we have decided to give them the opportunity for their voices to be heard through our new survey. We want to know how important the notion of civic pride is to them, where they believe there is room for improvement, what they’d like to see prioritised in terms of future investment, and if they consider a flourishing centre to be something that is key to their own ambitions. “Equipped with these insights, we will then be able to gauge how great the appetite is amongst the business community for thriving city and town centres, and advocate for the changes they’d like to see. “It’s imperative that we get as many different perspectives on this issue as possible, to ensure that we have authoritative data that’s truly representative of what businesses think. Indeed, the greater the response, the louder and more informative that collective voice is.” The Town and City Centre Survey is sponsored by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and ProAktive. It is also part of the nationwide Quarterly Economic Survey, which is itself the nation’s largest independent review of business sentiment.