A COUNCIL has defended its safety record after being fined £5,000 and ordered to pay more than £28,000 after a schoolboy had part of a finger amputated after getting it tangled in a lathe during a lesson.

The 14-year-old pupil of King James’ School, in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, was using a polishing cloth by hand on a work piece as it rotated on a manual metal lathe during a design and technology class when the incident happened in November 2013.

The boy’s right hand became entangled around the work piece and severed part of his index finger.

He was given first aid before being taken to hospital.

After an unsuccessful operation to reattach the finger, the pupil needed to undergo further surgery to amputate the finger to below the first joint.

The Health and Safety Executive said the pupil had found it very difficult to adjust since the operation, with the amputation affecting his writing, his ability to play music and his sports activities.

The HSE prosecuted the council after finding it had failed to identify hand-polishing on metal lathes was unsafe, despite it having been practised for years at the 1,700-pupil school.

Leeds Crown Court heard, HSE had served a prohibition notice on the council, advising the authority to take action to ensure similar practices were not underway at other schools under its control.

The council admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Kate Dixon said: “This was a horrifying incident in a classroom that could very simply have been avoided.

“The risk of amputation from using hand-held polishing cloths on metal working lathes is well known and HSE has had a guidance note on this since 1993."

The authority's deputy leader, Councillor Gareth Dadd said: “We have a very good safety record and deeply regret this incident which was a one-off.

“We have not had any incident like this in our schools for 40 years and therefore feel it is unfortunate that the HSE chose to incur significant costs to achieve this outcome.

“In our view it was unnecessary and disproportionate given the actions of the school and the local authority following the incident.”

The school's headteacher, Carl Sugden, the welfare of students was a priority.

He added: “For this reason we have continued working very closely with the local authority since this deeply regrettable accident to make sure all of the necessary health and safety procedures are further enhanced.”