A WORKER at an East Lancashire manufacturing plant was blinded in one eye after being struck in the face by a pressurised hose during a testing procedure, a court heard.

Bosses at Lodematic in Chatburn were fined £35,000 after Preston Crown Court was told that a worker lost the sight in his right eye after a connector failed during the testing of a hydraulic cylinders at their Pendle Trading Estate premises.

The components company, based in the Venture Buildings, admitted a number of health and safety offences after being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive over the incident in January 2014.

The court heard that the worker, who has not been named, was also left with a broken jaw and numerous facial wounds while working alongside a works manager and design engineers at the firm.

An investigation by the HSE discovered that the test zone was not segregated or safeguarded and that the test equipment was not maintained and suitable for the task. Lodematic had also failed to carry out a risk assessment.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Bradley Wigglesworth, said: “Lodematic (Components) Limited failed to assess the risks or provide a safe system of work for pressure testing hydraulic cylinders. “The test was carried out without segregating or safeguarding the test zone, and the test connectors were not subject to maintenance or inspection. If these measures had been in place at the time of the incident then the employee’s life-changing injuries could have been avoided.”

The company, which was first incorporated in 1956, also makes hydraulic rams and jacks.