A company was fined a total of £14,000 after a night watchman was injured falling into water from the quayside. The company director has today been fined a total of £2,750 for failing to carry out a risk assessment.

RM Supplies (Inverkeithing) Ltd had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to breaching Regulation 4(1) and 5 of the Docks Regulations 1988. The company was fined a total of £14,000.

The operation involved the berthing of a vessel at Berth No.1 of a quay that was in a severely dilapidated condition. This was done at night, even though the quay lacked any lighting. In the course of this operation, Charles Greenhill, 47, fell into the water between the quay and the berthing vessel. Due to a lack of adequate means of escape or rescue, Mr Greenhill had to be rescued by the vessel’s lifeboat.

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At Dunfermline Sheriff Court yesterday (8 September 2010), Mr Thomas Muir, who was Director of RM Supplies (Inverkeithing) Ltd, pleaded guilty to the charge of failure to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessment - a breach of Regulation 3(1) of the Management Regulations 1999.

Mr Muir, 56, of Boglilly Road, Kirkcaldy, ran a scrap metal operation from The Bay in Inverkeithing. He was prosecuted under health and safety legislation following the incident on 16 May 2007.

HSE Inspector Michael Orr said: "This was a significant breach of health and safety law which could have resulted in death had it not been for the intervention of the ship's crew. The conditions on site were unacceptable.

"There was no suitable or sufficient risk assessment, or attempt at planning which could have identified the state of the quay as unacceptable for use for any dock operations. This case should serve as a warning to all employers to ensure that routine and infrequent activities are effectively planned."

(GK/BMcC)