A HAMPSHIRE baker has been ordered to pay £800 after a teenage worker’s fingers were crushed in a dough moulding machine.

The young worker was able to put his hand in between two powered running rollers on the machine he was operating at Belinda’s Bakery in Ringwood because there was no safety guard in place.

The teen, who has not been named, was left with crush injuries to his right hand.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard that the incident, which could have seen the worker much more severely injured, was entirely preventable.

The court was told that immediately after the incident, which happened as the worker moulded dough into the correct size and shape, the firm reinstalled guarding on the machine, two years after it had been removed.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Peter Ellis, from the Poulner bakery, over the incident, in November last year.

The 58-year-old, of Picket Hill, Ringwood, pleaded guilty to breaching rules under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. He was fined £500 and ordered to pay a further £300 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Craig Varian said: “The risks from these types of machines are well known in the industry and this incident could have resulted in far worse injuries.

“Immediately following the incident Mr Ellis installed a guard which cuts the power to the machine, but had the guarding been in place the employee would not have been able to have accessed the dangerous parts of the machinery.”