A Decent Result to A Terrible Event

Alex Harrowell of the Yorkshire Ranter writes with news that occasionally the right thing gets done, even if it's across the big muddy.

Firm whose washing machine cooked worker fined £325,000

This case, which I blogged at the time, has finally been nailed down. To recap, Paul Clegg ventured into a 40ft long industrial washing machine to clear it of sheets tangled in the workings. He was overcome by heat inside the thing, but although people outside knew this, no-one could help. They could not help because none of them knew there was an escape hatch in the side of the machine. Not even the engineer on duty knew that - hardly surprising as he had received no training and had never even read the machine manual. When the fire brigade arrived he assured them there was no access, leaving them to hack through the steel drum by force. By the time they broke in, Mr. Clegg was dead.

Yesterday, Bournemouth Crown Court fined the firm £325,000 and ordered them to pay £16,500 costs.