A LABOURER died after being crushed by a paper baling machine which was in such poor condition that a repairman thought it was derelict, an inquest heard.

Steven Donald, 17, of York Close, Clayton-le-Moors, died after he was trapped under a conveyor belt at recycling firm EW Cartons in Rishton. Machine operator Ian Perkins said that on August 10, 1998, he walked across the company's yard at York Mill, York Street, leaving Mr Donald loading a conveyor belt with cardboard.

He heard Mr Donald scream, ran to the machine and saw Mr Donald was trapped under the belt with only his head, shoulders and chest showing.

Mr Perkins switched off the machine and driver Mark Speak dialled 999 on his mobile phone. The pair cut through the belt but could not free Mr Donald because his chest was trapped under a metal strut.

Firefighters freed him and he was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary. Despite operations, he died on August 21 from multiple organ failure as a result of his injuries.

Mr Perkins said the machine had broken down "quite a few times" and that he and Mr Donald had sometimes stepped onto the moving conveyor to remove blockages. He said they had been warned by management that this could get them the sack. He said the machine's rubber conveyor belt, which moved at one foot per second, had been repaired in more than 15 different places. Mr Perkins said only he and Mr Donald knew how to work the machine, which processed up to 100 tons of cardboard each day and converted it into bales. The only training had come from the firm who supplied the machine and there were no written instructions or guidelines.

Company sales director Ian Whalley told the Blackburn hearing he had previously seen Mr Donald running on the machine's conveyor belt.

Health And Safety Executive engineer Brian Milward said the only possible explanation for Mr Donald becoming trapped was that he had stepped on a hole in the belt.

Mr Perkins said it was possible that Mr Donald had slipped onto the belt or that he had stepped onto it to remove a blockage.

Mr Perkins said there had been a previous incident when his foot slipped through a hole in the belt. The incident was recorded and managing director Eric Whalley, who is chairman of Accrington Stanley, later told police he thought steps had been taken to prevent a recurrence.

Brian Foster, of Waste Equipment Ltd of Bamber Bridge, said his company had supplied the second-hand machine in 1996 and that he had pointed out safety deficiencies to management. He said £35,000 repairs were needed but Eric Whalley did not order repairs because he said they were too expensive.

Mr Foster said he later found parts of the machine had been tampered with and safety features had been bypassed.

He said that Mr Perkins seemed "very capable of taking short cuts" and added: "I was very concerned when he showed me some of the things he used to do. I said it was dangerous."

Engineer Eric Shaw said when he had been asked to patch up the conveyor belt by EW Cartons staff in 1997, he initially thought the machine was derelict because of its poor condition.

HSE electrical engineer John Chamberlain said: "The machine was in a dangerous condition. The risk of serious injury to someone operating it was foreseeable. Any maintenance which had been carried out was inadequate."

(Proceeding)

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