A FARMING business has been fined for multiple health and safety breaches which placed employees and others at risk over many years, in an attempt to cut costs.
Seymour Stevens Limited operate a beef and arable farm in Faversham, Kent. A site visit carried out in November 2022 identified multiple, serious health and safety failings.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found one of the barns, used as a through route by an employee, was deemed unsafe to enter due to its poor structural state. Seymour Stevens Ltd were aware of this but had taken the decision not to repair the shed due to the costs, but had continued to allow its use. A number of electrical faults were also identified within that shed.
In another shed, the roof was insecurely fixed and was being weighed down with a straw bale in an attempt to prevent it from moving. Roof sheeting was also in poor condition and state of disrepair; in some cases, even falling from buildings.
Bull pens were broken and rusty and concerns were raised about the suitability of these to contain a bull. During the Christmas period in 2022, a bull had managed to escape the farm and was brought back to site by the Police.
Earlier in the…
