ONE of Dumbarton's largest employers has been fined £50,000 for health and safety breaches that led to a worker being crushed in machinery.

Chivas Brothers Ltd were given the fine and another £50,000 fine was given to Fire Protection Group (FPG) Ltd, of Linlithgow, for the incident back in 2017.

The Reporter exclusively revealed earlier how both firms pleaded guilty last month to charges over the FPG worker being seriously injured at the drinks giant's Kilmalid site.

It was the first offence for both firms and Sheriff Maxwell Hendry lowered the fine from £75,000 each at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Monday.

The engineer was inside the vertical storage and retrieval unit when he was crushed and had to be freed by firefighters.

He suffered crushing injuries including the chest wall, shoulder and upper leg and sustained a cut to his leg.

The 27-year-old worker was off recovering for months.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter:

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that FPG failed to ensure a sufficient risk assessment was carried out before its employee inspected the fire suppression systems inside the storage and retrieval unit.

Chivas Brothers failed to give the necessary safety information to its employees and FPG contractors on site.

While both firms had safety assessments for machines, they weren't detailed enough for what happened on February 22, 2017.

Both firms expressed their regret at what happened and have since implemented a number of changes.

Alistair Duncan, head of the health and safety investigation unit, said: "This was a foreseeable accident resulting in injuries that could have been avoided if an agreed safe system of work had been in place and all relevant safety information had been shared.

“This prosecution and the sentence should serve to remind employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have serious consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings."

A spokesman for Chivas Brothers said: "The health and safety of everyone at our sites is our priority at Chivas Brothers. 

"Immediately following the event, we conducted an internal investigation and worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), promptly incorporating findings from the investigation into our safety management systems. We remain fully committed to ensuring that all Chivas Brothers workplaces maintain the very highest safety standards."