CCTV footage showing workers routinely bypassing safety barriers has played a central role in a case that has seen a waste management giant fined almost £2.5 million after an employee was crushed to death by a reversing skip wagon.
The employee was working as a sort line operative at the company’s Bradford waste transfer station when the fatal incident occurred on 10 August 2023. As he made his way across the weighbridge towards the site office, he was struck from behind by a skip wagon reversing into position. The impact knocked him to the ground, and he died after being crushed by the rear wheels.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigators found that while the site had segregated pedestrian routes and barriers in place, these were routinely ignored. CCTV footage taken just days before the incident showed workers climbing over barriers and walking through vehicle areas, treating the high-risk site ‘like a playground’, according to HSE inspector Elliot Archer.
The footage exposed a breakdown in supervision and safety culture, with managers failing to intervene or enforce pedestrian-vehicle separation rules. HSE concluded that the company had failed to adequately monitor and review its safety arrangements, allowing unsafe practices to become the norm.
At Leeds Magistrates’ Court on 15 October 2025, the company pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. The company was fined £2.48 million and ordered to pay costs of £5,768.
‘Our investigation found a casual attitude to health and safety with workers treating a high hazard site like a playground,’ said Elliot. ‘Control measures existed to keep pedestrians and vehicles apart, but without proper monitoring and supervision, those measures became meaningless. CCTV showed that workers had developed dangerous habits that were simply ignored.’
In a press statement, the HSE reminded employers that nearly a quarter of all workplace transport deaths involve reversing vehicles, and that ongoing supervision and behavioural monitoring are critical in maintaining site safety.
Source – IOSH
