A West Wales company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker fell more than four feet at its factory in Llandysul.

Tregroes Waffle Bakery Ltd was fined £1,750 and ordered to pay £1,374 costs and at a court hearing at Llanelli Magistrates' Court on Monday. The prosecution follows an incident in which a worker fractured a rib when she fell from a structural girder which was being used as access for cleaning.

Falls from height are among the main causes of injury in the workplace, and it is essential for employers to manage the risks, says HSE.

The employee was cleaning the side of a flour hopper at the company's factory in Llandysul when the incident occurred on 28 November 2008. She fell more than four feet, and suffered a fractured rib, bruising and a cut leg. She would have fallen nearly twice as far had she not landed on a bulk container directly below.

The company, based at Pencader Road, Pontwelly, Llandysul, Ceredigion, pleaded guilty to a charge under section 6(3) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

Source: HSE