A FIRM has been fined £80,000 after a worker’s leg bone was shattered while test firing a gun on a range in the North-East.

The 46-year-old employee, from Hexham, was seriously injured when a metal bolt weighing 7kg ejected from the back of the gun and into his left leg.

He spent six weeks in hospital and his injured leg is now 20mm shorter than his right.

The incident, on April 3, 2008 at the company’s Ridsdale range in Northumberland, was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions for safety failings.

Newcastle Crown Court heard today (Friday, September 19) that an aiming device, known as a boresight, had been left in the barrel of the medium-calibre gun when it should have been removed before firing.

An HSE investigation found that although BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions Limited recognised the hazards of not removing a boresight before firing and had interlocked other guns to avoid this type of incident, they had failed to implement the same standards on this weapon.

BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions Limited, Warwick House, Farnborough Aerospace Centre, Featherstone, Farnborough, Hampshire, was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £100,000 court costs after pleading guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

HSE Inspector Philip Smith, said: “As a result of their safety failure, a worker suffered a terrible injury.

“This incident emphasises the need for management to ensure preventative measures are effectively implemented on all equipment used at work.”