Tesco has been found guilty on two serious breaches of health and safety legislation at Sheffield Magistrates Court.

An employee of Tesco suffered head injuries when the hydraulic arm of a scissor lift struck him on the head knocking him unconscious at their Abbeydale Road store on the 22 August 2006.

The hydraulic arm of the scissor lift had been reported as being defective four days previous to the incident occurring, but the scissor lift had continued to be used after being reported as defective.


The hydraulic arm had been tied down and a ‘Do not use’ sign stuck onto it. At the time of the accident the hydraulic arm was not tied down and no sign was attached to it. The scissor lift had last been inspected in November 2005 and should have been inspected again in May 2006, but was not inspected until September 2006.

The retail giant pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation. They were fined £20,000 for breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failing to protect the safety of their employees, and £5,000 for breaching the Lifting Operations Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 by allowing a defective lift to be used without a thorough examination. Both these fines were for the maximum allowed in a Magistrates Court.

Ian Ashmore, the Council’s Head of Environmental Regulation said: "The employee was lucky not to receive far worse injuries and this is a salutary reminder of the importance of having good health and safety procedures."

(CD/NS)