A worker of Simpsons Malt Limited of Tweed Valley Maltings, Tweedside Trading Estate, Berwick was injured when he fell from the fork of a forklift truck. The man, John Weatherburn was fixing a roller shutter door when the incident took place.

The company, which is a producer of a variety of malts, was found guilty of violating the health and safety regulations and was fined a sum of £10,000 on 7 July 2009. In addition, the company had to pay £5,883.75 in costs and £15 towards victim surcharge.

Because of this incident, the Health and Safety Executive has issued a warning to employers, who engage workers to work at heights, to care for their safety.

Richard Bulmer, HSE Principal Inspector pointed out that falling from heights is a common workplace casualty and should be taken seriously. Workplace Law is a major provider of accredited health and safety training – click on NEBOSH General - a course in the management of health and safety could help you cut the risks that apply in your workplace. He also said that using only a pallet on a forklift truck for maintenance tasks is a huge risk and many workers in the past have become victims of this unsafe activity.

He went further to state that according to the Health and Safety Law, one has to look for other safe techniques to minimize risk in work at heights. Using mobile scaffolds, cherry pickers or a safe ladder can be good for workplace safety and get the job done well. Forklifts are to be used only when they have been properly equipped with a safety cage that prevents falling.