The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has highlighted the need for care when operating machinery near overhead power cables.

It comes after John Rowland Fallows of Fallows Recycling Services was fined £1,600 and ordered to pay £2,214 in costs by Newcastle-under-Lyme Magistrates Court.

He pleaded guilty to a breach of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 after worker Andrew Perry suffered serious burns when the extending arm of a truck he was controlling at a site in Staffordshire struck overhead cables.

Those who wish to avoid similar action may want to consider OHSAS training to ensure they are compliant with legislation.

"Around 60 per cent of electrical fatalities at work are caused by inadvertent contact with overhead power lines," said HSE inspector Lynne Boulton, adding that no barriers or warnings had been in place at the site at Booths Farm, Cheadle.

Last week, the organisation issued a warning about the appropriate use of lifting equipment such as forklift trucks, which OHSAS 18001 compliant procedures could help achieve.

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