UK firm fined £1m after young worker killed by exploding tire

Canterbury, UK – A UK tire dealer has been fined £1 million (€1.3 million) and ordered to pay costs of £99,485 for safety failings after a 21-year-old worker was killed when a tire exploded.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how Matthew Hoare, an employee of Watling Tyre Service Ltd of Kent, was repairing a puncture to the tire of a ‘dresser loading shovel’ when it exploded.

The company, which claims to be the leading tire dealer in south east England, had pleaded previously guilty to breaches of UK health & safety regulations at a hearing on 29 Jan.

During an investigation, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Hoare was working on his own with inadequate equipment which was not properly maintained.

He was not trained or competent to undertake the work he was told to complete, added a 1 June press statement from the HSE.

“Employees need to be provided with properly maintained equipment and the correct equipment to undertake tasks whilst out on site,” said Mike Walters, HSE principal inspector, after the hearing.

Employees also need to be trained and competent in the tasks they were asked to undertake,” added Walters.