ONE of Dumbarton’s biggest employers has pleaded guilty to health and safety violations that saw a worker trapped under machinery at its plant in the town.

Chivas Brothers Limited and Fire Protection Group (FPG) Limited admitted failing to ensure the site at Kilmalid, Stirling Road, Dumbarton, was safe over a period of two months.

In February 22, 2017, Kyle MacDonald, 27, an employee of FPG, was trapped within an extractor device that descended on him.

After more than four years, guilty pleas from the two companies were submitted at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week.

FPG admitted failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees.

They failed to ensure a system of work that was safe and failed to provide information, instruction and training to ensure health and safety.

Specifically, they failed to ensure a risk assessment was in place for fire suppression systems inside work equipment that contained dangerous parts.

FPG failed to provide employees who were doing this work with the training and preventative measures to control the risks.

That led to Mr MacDonald being seriously injured while he was working on a vertical storage and retrieval unit when the extractor device, a dangerous part of machinery inside the device, descended on him and trapped him within the unit.

Chivas Brothers admitted to failing to share appropriate health and safety information with another employer, FPG, whose staff were on site, to ensure full risks were identified on site.

Both charges were said to have taken place between and including December 20, 2016 and February 22, 2017.

Full details of the accident, along with sentencing, will be presented at a later date.

Mr MacDonald was taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

At the time it was reported he was released the next day after treatment.

Shortly after the incident, a full West Dunbartonshire Council meeting held a minute’s silence, having been told by then Councillor George Black that a worker had died.

The non-life threatening nature of the incident was confirmed an hour later during the meeting.

Chivas Brothers said at the time: “We can confirm that an incident took place at our Kilmalid site.

“We take the safety of all people working on our sites extremely seriously and would like to thank the emergency services and Chivas Brothers personnel for their swift response.”