Wilko, the budget high street retailer, has been fined more than £2 million for safety failings including not risk assessing the use of lift cages.

The court was told an overloaded cage of paint pots weighing 35 stone toppled on top of a worker as she pulled it from a lift. The cage was not even with the shop floor and had been unevenly loaded.

The worker suffered severe spinal injuries.

Significant risk was clear

The judge said the shop’s failings were significant, particularly as the risk in moving heavy and unevenly loaded cages was clear.

In this “high culpability case” the retailer had no risk assessment for the lift or use of cages and inadequate training and supervision.

Health & Safety inspectors were shocked by the store’s unsafe systems and practices that exposed employees to significant risk.

Sentence

Wilko Retail Limited accepted it failed to ensure the Health & Safety of employees.

The company admitted four offences under the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

It was fined £2.2 million with costs of £70,835.