A firm has been fined after a worker lost two fingers when he caught his hand in a spinning metal lathe.
Proseal (UK) Ltd, which makes tray-sealing machines for the food industry, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety at work legislation.
Macclesfield magistrates heard that the man, 34, was polishing a piece of metal, spinning on a lathe at up to 850 times a minute, when his right hand was dragged into the mechanism.
His middle and ring finger were cut off at the knuckle in the incident at a factory on Adlington Industrial Estate in Adlington, near Poynton in Cheshire on March 24 2010.
The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the worker had been allowed to wear gloves while working at the lathe.
The court was told that HSE guidance issued 20 years ago warned of the dangers of wearing gloves while using metalworking lathes. Guidelines also advise against using emery cloth to polish metal components and for workers to avoid holding the cloth in their hands. The victim was not given any training on how to safely polish the aluminium machine parts.
HSE inspector Lisa Lewis said: "This was a needless injury which could easily have been avoided if Proseal had followed health and safety guidance."
The company was unavailable for comment.
