A FURNITURE company has been fined £5,000 after an accident where an employee lost three fingers.

Ernest Phillipson, managing director of IPEC Furniture Ltd, in Victoria Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to a charge brought by the Health and Safety Executive before Hyndburn magistrates.

Milton Mitchell, 55, of Hope Street, Accrington, was involved in a severe accident involving woodwork machinery at Lodge Mill which resulted in the amputation of three fingers from his right hand and severe lacerations to his little finger.

The company was charged under the Health and Safety Act for not ensuring the safety of its worker, after the accident on June 7 last year.

Dorothy Shaw, prosecuting, told the court that the circular saw Mr Mitchell had been operating was 25 years old and had been adapted from a manual saw to an automatic one, but that it did not conform to new safety measures.

Mrs Shaw added: "The foot pedal operating this machine was not in a fixed position or far enough away from the blade. It was definitely not safe as far as is reasonable practicable.

"Mr Mitchell had been given on the job training but had not used the machine for six months as he had been employed as a driver.

"On the morning of the accident he had been told to help on the machine as they were short-staffed. He claims not to have been given further instruction, although this is now in dispute."

Duncan Nightingale, defending, said: "This machine had been with the company for some time and has now been replaced at a cost of £30,000.

"We will never make these machines 100 per cent safe as it is impossible but it is accepted this machine did not meet with new safety standards.

"Mr Mitchell was given proper training and had worked on the machine for eight months until February 2001. He went back onto it on June 5 and was given a training refresher course but was given a warning about the way he was operating the machine the day before the accident."

IPEC was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,073.10 costs. The magistrate said that this was an isolated incident and that he accepted further training had been given to Mr Mitchell.