Luxury chocolate maker Hotel Chocolat has been fined £25,000 after an injured worker lost a finger and suffered serious hand and arm injuries.

Cell supervisor Piotr Podgorski, from Bretton, in Peterborough, was cleaning the tank of a chocolate enrobing machine when the accident happened in August 2014.

The cloth he was using became tangled in a rotating stirrer mechanism as he emptied a tank, wrapping around his finger and twisting his arm. The finger was torn off and the tendon was stripped from his arm.

Magistrates heard that Mr Podgorski, 35, could not work for two months and continues to suffer from nightmares and depression because of the accident.

Health and Safety Executive inspectors found failings including a failure to recognise the potential danger of the rotating stirrer in its risk assessments.

Hotel Chocolat Limited, of Mint House, Royston, Hertfordshire, admitted offences under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Peterborough Magistrates’ Court fined the firm £25,000 with £2,521.26 costs, plus a £200 victim surcharge.

HSE Inspector Roxanne Barker said after the hearing that the injuries caused had been “entirely preventable”.

She added: “The risks associated with rotating parts are well known and span many industries. The risk posed by the unguarded stirrer should have been obvious.

“The company should have put measures in place to prevent access to the dangerous parts of the machinery, not rely on the operator to isolate it.

“Following the incident they took the decision to fit interlocks and E-Stops to the tank units on 12 of these machines.”

Macks Solicitors in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Darlington recover millions of pounds in compensation every year for our clients, including those who have been injured at work. We specialise in personal injury claims and can have many years of experience in this field. Fill out our claim form to arrange an appointment.