WCD Sleeman & Sons Ltd have been fined £30,000 after a quarry blast sent rocks weighing up to 15kg flying outside a danger zone towards employees and across a public road. Falling rocks narrowly avoided hitting workers as they landed well outside the designated blast zone at Moons Hill Quarry, near Shepton Mallet, on 7 February 2012. Rocks also fell on to a public highway, exposing road users to unacceptable danger. The Frome-based firm which organized the blast was prosecuted last month after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified serious control failings. Bristol Crown Court heard that workers acting as sentries outside the danger area were aware of rocks flying above their heads and landing all around them immediately after the blast. Rocks also landed in the processing plant area of the quarry, which is on the other side of a public road.
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