Kings Road Tyres Fined £40,000 in Health & Safety Case

Kings Road Tyres & Repairs Ltd (KRT) was fined £30,000 with £10,000 costs on 25 September at Carlisle Crown Court after a jury found the company guilty of a breach of the 1994 Health and Safety at Work Act at its Carlisle warehouse. The guilty verdict related to the fact that a pile of truck tyres stacked 19 high contravened the company’s health and safety policy. The jury cleared the firm of two other charges relating to an accident in which a roofer had fallen through a skylight. Peter Gaster, KRT group MD accepted that KRT staff failed to apply the correct measures in this instance of over stacking, but maintains the company had to defend its position against unfair and frivolous claims in respect of the roofing incident.

In addition to the court case there was also some controversy over local newspaper, the News & Star’s, coverage of the case. The News & Star reported that Judge Barbara Forrester issued the fine after taking into account several “aggravating factors about the firm’s storage of tyres.” However, Peter Gaster told Tyres & Accessories the paper’s reference to “aggravating factors about our storage of tyres…is incorrect and was not mentioned by the Judge.”

“We reported the roofing incident under RIDDOR, and this caused Carlisle City Council Health and Safety Inspectors to visit our premises to discuss the accident. Whilst on our premises they noticed a rather high stack of tyres. At no time then or previously has anyone been injured or has there been any accidents resulting from our storage policy,” he explained.

Peter Gaster also contested the report’s allegations that the company was warned about stacking tyres too high six years ago and the suggestion the company behaved this way for many years: “This is incorrect. What was said was that we have been in business for many years and had never had a problem in the past.”

“The Court Case was about a roofing contractor who went on our roof without our permission and fell though it causing himself to be injured, although thankfully not seriously, and in turn put KRT employees at risk. The evidence presented by both the roofer and the representative of Carlisle City Council HSE was inconsistent with the facts and KRT were found not guilty of the two indictments in relation to the ‘roofing’ charges which were far more important than the secondary charge of incorrect tyre stacking,” Gaster explained.

A KRT statement said the company takes all Health and Safety (H&S) issues very seriously and has a rigorous H&S policy throughout its depots, which is regularly audited by professional health and safety consultants alongside its own H&S management.

Gaster pointed out that KRT runs “a robust H&S policy” yet have still been vulnerable to mistakes which have resulted in a cost to the company of £40,000. “So, be prepared to pay if your premises and operations are not fit for your business otherwise the HSE will penalise you,” Gaster concluded.