A BUILDERS merchant has been fined thousands after an employee suffered severe injuries.

In June 2018, one of Hughes Forrest Ltd's employees at the Pontllanfraith branch near Blackwood, was injured after getting supplies from racks.

The consultant's diagnosis was multiple fractures of the left arm.

Hughes Forrest Ltd have been trading since 1931 in Newport and expanded to Blackwood in 1998, relocating to the current 24,000 square foot site in Pontllanfraith in 2007.

They supply more than 100,000 building products and materials across Wales.

Caerphilly County Borough Council's Environmental Health team completed an in-depth investigation and took the case to Newport Magistrates Court.

On July 25, this year, Hughes Forrest Ltd pleaded guilty to five offences that breached the Health and Safety Act.

The offences were:

Failure to provide new employees with induction training or with job specific health and safety training

Failure to provide employees operating fork lift trucks with fork lift truck training and relevant refresher training

Failure to make a suitable assessment of the risks posed from loading/unloading racking

Failure to organise the external yard area in such a way that pedestrians and vehicles can circulate in a safe manner

Failure to thoroughly examine the fork lift trucks used in association with the working platform on a six monthly basis

The company were ordered to pay a fine of £40,000, costs of £3,370.44 and a victim surcharge of £170.

Cabinet member for the Environment Cllr Eluned Stenner said: “We take all reports of accidents reported to the council very seriously and investigate them thoroughly. This was a serious incident involving a person becoming injured as a result of a failure to implement policies and procedures and I am pleased that the court has reflected this in the fine”.