Gluten-free bakery Bells of Lazonby has been ordered to pay more than £70k following two workers suffering hand injuries while operating machinery.

Members of the bakery attended Carlisle Magistrates court and pleaded guilty for breaching two charges of Regulation 11 of the Provision and the Use of Work Equipment Regulation 1998.

The bakery was fined £40,000 for the first incident and £30,000 for the second offence, with an additional £7,990 in costs.

The two incidents occurred in January and March 2016, which resulted in regulator the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launching an investigation. The investigation found that the company failed to install guarding on the machine to prevent the injuries. 

Bells of Lazonby said in a statement that the company deeply regretted the unfortunate accidents, in which members of staff were injured.

“We take the welfare of our staff extremely seriously. We have an excellent reputation within our industry for all that we do and have never had any previous prosecutions in any area of business – employment, food safety, environmental or health and safety,” the statement said.

“Improvements have been made at our premises, to ensure they are safe for visitors and staff. These improvements have been reviewed and approved by our regulator. We believe we have done all we can to make sure that a similar incident is prevented. The company provided support and assistance to our injured colleagues and we are pleased to say that both returned to work with us.”