A food company in Park Royal has been fined £4,000 after a worker lost the ends of two fingers while cleaning a poorly-guarded machine.

Dina Foods Ltd in Gorst Road, admitted breaching safety rules after the 45-year-old employee suffered partial amputation of the ring finger and serious injury to the little finger of his right hand after they were caught in a rotating drum.

The family firm employs 150 staff in three factories in North West London and specialises in handmade Mediterranean foods which are sold in supermarkets including Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco, Co-op and Asda.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard the company did not ensure the machine’s guarding prevented workers from getting too close to dangerous moving parts.

The worker suffered his injury when he tried to detach a drum and his foot pressed an operating pedal which started the machine last May.

He spent four days in hospital and has been unable to return to work since his accident.

Yesterday the firm admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was also ordered to pay £1,477 in costs.

The Health and Safety Executive, HSE, who led the prosecution, served the company with an enforcement notice which banned the machine from being used until it was sufficiently guarded.

They have also advised the firm to regularly carry out safety checks on their machines

Saif Deen, HSE inspector, said: “If Dina Foods had ensured the machinery was suitably guarded, the incident would not have happened. It was only after enforcement action by HSE that the firm introduced measures that should have been taken before to protect against access to dangerous parts of the equipment.

“It is not uncommon for employees in manufacturing industries to be injured when cleaning unguarded, operating machinery. The law specifies the measures that should be taken and HSE will prosecute companies which have sub-standard safety precautions in place.”