Farm helper lost his arm

A teenager had his arm severed by a combine harvester as he went to help a farm worker trying to sharpen the machine’s blades at a farm near Bridgnorth, a court heard today.Seventeen-year-old Richard Higgins’s sleeve was caught and drawn into the blades when he went to farm worker John Huffer’s aid.

Neil Andrew Morris, 47, of Nash, Ludlow, today admitted two health and safety charges when he appeared at Ludlow Magistrates Court today.

The magistrates were still considering their sentence this afternoon.

Janice Dale, an inspector for the Health and Safety Executive who prosecuted the case, said the incident happened at Mr Morris’s farm at Burwarton, near Bridgnorth, in October.

She said Mr Huffer was attempting to sharpen the blades on a combine harvester.

She said: “He was using a semi-automatic system to sharpen the blades. A stone traverses the blades to do this. But the stone got stuck so he reached inside and tried to push it with a hammer.”

Mr Higgins, who also worked on the farm, saw he was in difficulty and went to help. His sleeve got caught and was drawn into the blades, severing it just below the elbow, the court heard.

Mrs Dale said that the guards had been removed for cleaning and greasing the blades, which was normal practice.

She said although Mr Morris had made an attempt at a risk assessment, he had not given specific details on how the sharpening should be done or that the machine should be turned off.

Mr Neil Davies, for Morris, said he had contacted the Health & Safety Executive immediately after the accident. His client had co-operated fully with the investigation and had drawn up a comprehensive risk assessment guide which all employees now have to read and sign.

Mr Davies said: “Mr Morris spends some £20,000 a year on maintaining his equipment. So he is certainly not trying to shirk is responsibilities. A risk assessment had been carried out, but perhaps it fell short of suitable requirements.”

The court heard Mr Higgins bore no grudge against Morris.

The case continues.

By Catherine Roche