Outdoor pursuits company Hamburger Hill Ltd, which is based in Hunstrete near Bath, has been ordered to pay £33,000 following an investigation by Health and Safety Officers at B&NES Council.

Quad biking | Library image
The Council received a complaint about safety practices at the business after a member of the public suffered a fractured hip, following an accident at the activity centre on 24th May 2015, when the quad bike they were riding, tipped over and landed on top of them.
Russell Steel, one of the Directors of Hamburger Hill Ltd which runs the activity centre, appeared on behalf of the company before District Judge Taylor sitting at Bristol Magistrates Court on 5th July 2018.
The company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in which they failed to control, monitor and review their health and safety policies and risk assessments; the design and construction of the quad bike tracks and their suitability for that purpose; and to monitor and supervise their staff.
The Council’s investigation discovered that staff had not received formal training in riding quadbikes, staff were not adhering to the risk assessments that were in place and that there were inadequate procedures in place to ensure that staff were being appropriately supervised.
The company had introduced concrete quad bike tracks surrounded by tyre walls of varying heights back in 2009, however there were inadequate procedures in place to monitor and review the design and construction of these tracks, to ensure that they remained suitable for their intended use.
The investigation also highlighted failings in how the tyre walls were maintained.
Hamburger Hill Ltd was fined £8,000, ordered to pay £25,000 costs and a victim surcharge of £170.
In sentencing the company, District Judge Taylor said: “You can have the most wonderful risk assessments and policies in place but if they are not monitored and reviewed then they are worthless”.
District Judge Taylor did not accept the defence’s mitigation in that the injury caused was as a result of an isolated incident and said that “it was a matter of chance of whether an injury occurred”.
Speaking after the hearing, Councillor Bob Goodman, Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods & Development, said: “This case illustrates the importance for businesses to not only have the correct safety policies and procedures in place but also to make sure they’re adhered to – day in, day out – and ensure that risks to public health are addressed.
“Our Public Protection Team will continue to provide guidance and support, and hold businesses to account for their failures.”