Duni Poppies Limited, a St Helens manufacturer of napkins and thin ply paper products, has been fined £80,000 after a woman suffered life-changing injuries when her hand became trapped in machinery. The incident occurred at the company's site in Cornwall Street, St Helens, and resulted in the loss of two fingers and serious injuries to two others.
Incident Details
The woman, who had worked as a machine operator for 11 years, was cleaning the rollers of a machine used to emboss logos and emblems onto tissue paper before folding napkins into shape. During the task, her right hand was drawn into the machinery, leaving it trapped for several minutes.
She suffered full amputations to her little and ring fingers, as well as partial amputations to her index and middle fingers. She has also been left with increased sensitivity in her hand.
Impact on Daily Life
The injuries have had a significant impact on her everyday life, leaving her unable to manage tasks such as cooking. She has also been unable to enjoy hobbies including cycling, knitting and gardening because the injury affected her dominant hand.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the machine did not have an interlocked guard to prevent workers from accessing the print rollers. This meant employees could reach the dangerous moving parts while the machine was operating.
Previous Enforcement
The HSE also found the company had previously been subject to enforcement action over machinery guarding issues during inspections in 2010, 2014, 2019 and 2021. Employers are required to take effective measures to prevent workers accessing dangerous parts of machinery, which would normally involve fixed or interlocked guards to prevent contact with moving parts.
Duni Poppies Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). The company was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £4,756 in costs at Warrington Magistrates' Court in November 2026.
HSE inspector Gemma Feerick said: "This avoidable incident led to an experienced employee suffering life changing injuries. If the company had properly assessing the risks and applied the correct control measures to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery, it would have been avoided. We will not hesitate to take action against companies who fall below the expected standards and fail to keep people safe."
The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Julian White and paralegal officer Ella Loveday.
