A farming partnership in Surrey has been fined £36,000 after a young dad was seriously injured when five 600kg hay bales fell on him.
Christopher Rolfe from Horsham in West Sussex, sustained four rib fractures when the hay bales toppled and fell on top of him at Polesden Lacey Farm on 28 April 2022.
He had gone into a barn to collect bales that were being delivered to local customers.
The bales had been stored on a layer of pallets to keep them off the damp barn floor.
As he was removing the pallets to reach the stack of bales, an entire column of five toppled over and crushed him against the floor.
He lay trapped, yelling for help.
A nearby dog walker heard his calls and called the emergency services.
He suffered fractures to his pelvis and ankle as well as his ribs.
“I was lucky to come away with just a broken hip and leg fractures”
He said: “I was a stereotypical young man in agriculture.
“I always thought I’d be fine—as long as I drove a quarter-million-pound tractor down the road with everyone looking at me.
“Now that’s the last thing on my mind.
“I very much look at every piece of machinery in front of me and think how quickly can that thing kill me.
“I was lucky to come away with just a broken hip and leg fractures.”
He was airlifted to hospital after the incident, where he underwent emergency surgery that saved his life.
Chris then had months of rehab to start walking again so he could look after his son, then aged four.
He said: “I was later told that if I had gone by road to the hospital I would have died.
“But at the time, I didn’t even want to go to hospital.
“The biggest thing that went through my mind at the time was that I’d just ruined my summer!”
“Having spoken to the staff at Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance, I’ve come to realise just how important they are.
“When I needed them, they were there. My son, who’s now seven is even a young ambassador for them.
“So something really good has come from a really bad situation.
“My outlook on what happened is that I can’t change it, but I have to deal with what I’ve got.”
Chris has since resumed his career in farming.
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HSE Investigation
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the poorly constructed stack of bales had not been stacked on firm, dry, level, freely draining ground.
Instead, they had been put on top of old pallets as the barn floor was uneven and prone to waterlogging.
The bales were placed in vertical columns and were not ‘tied in’ by alternating the layers so the bales overlap and stop the stack from splitting.
The company had also failed to identify safe working methods for unstacking bales, keeping the face racked back as bales were removed.
HSE guidance states the bottom of a stack should set up a dry, sturdy foundation for all additional bales.
Bales should all be ‘tied in’ and the stack should be monitored to ensure it remains stable. More on this can be found at: Safe working with bales in agriculture (hse.gov.uk)
F Conisbee and Sons Ltd, of Ockham Road South, East Horsley, Surrey, admitted to breaching Regulation 10 (4) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
The company was fined £36,000 and ordered to pay £4,986 in costs at Staines Magistrates’ Court on 15 May 2024.
HSE inspector Sally Parkes said:
“This accident would have been easily avoided if the farm had followed the guidance published by either HSE or the National Farmers Union on the safe stacking of bales. Stacking bales requires skill and should be overseen directly by someone with knowledge of the industry guidance.
“Health and safety is a fundamental requirement of a sustainable farming business yet over the last 10 years, almost one person a week is killed and many more are seriously injured as a result of agricultural work.
“Even with the considerable financial stain on UK farming, prioritising health and safety not only ensures workers are kept safe but also improves well-being and health outcomes alongside supporting productivity and efficiency on farms.”
