A Dorset contractor has been fined after a forestry worker was left with life-altering injuries when a tree fell on him.
The incident occurred on 12th January, 2022, at The Fonthill Estate in Salisbury, Wiltshire. A 21-meter ash tree, cut as part of an ash dieback clearance project, landed on the worker, a 58-year-old from Somerset, who is now paralysed from the waist down.
The contractor, Gerald Hayward, trading as G H Hayward Forestry Contractors, was felling the tree when it unexpectedly fell in the wrong direction. Hayward was cutting into the tree when it struck the worker, who had been standing on a nearby bridle path. The impact resulted in the worker sustaining eight broken ribs, a broken pelvis, two broken ankles, a collapsed lung, and internal bleeding. He was placed in an induced coma for two weeks and subsequently spent four months in the hospital.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Hayward, who was responsible for overseeing the felling, had not established a safe working zone around the tree. According to standard tree felling procedures, the safety zone should be twice the height of the tree, with only the feller inside. The HSE concluded that Hayward’s cut did not leave a functioning hinge, causing the tree to fall unexpectedly.
On October 15, 2024, Gerald Hayward, from Blandford Forum, Dorset, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court.
HSE Inspector James Hole commented on the severity of the incident: “This was a serious incident resulting in life-changing injuries for the individual, who now requires lifelong care. Mr. Hayward failed to establish a safe working zone, a fundamental practice for tree felling in woodlands. Proper safety measures could have prevented this tragedy.”
This prosecution was handled by HSE enforcement lawyer Gemma Zakrzewski, with support from HSE paralegal officer Gabrielle O’Sullivan.
