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Warning issued over road paint trucks

10 Oct 14 The Health & Safety Executive is warning highways contractors of the potential for fire on road marking vehicles if they are not looked after properly.

Specialist contractor Redland Road Marking Ltd was this week fined £2,000 for an incident last year when an employee suffered burns when his truck exploded.

Bristol magistrates heard that Neil Higgins from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire was laying road markings with a team at Imperial Park, Hartcliffe, on 25 June 2013 when the explosion happened, causing him to suffer burns.

The HSE’s investigation found that gas-heated cauldrons on top of the vehicle were unsuitable for the work because the pipework was not properly connected and the equipment had no flame failure devices. In addition, the pipework had not been fitted by a competent person.

HSE principal inspector Helena Tinton said after the hearing: “This is not the first time there has been a fire of this nature on a road marking vehicle and the operators need to ensure that the equipment has been installed by a competent person and regularly maintained.

"It is a matter of good fortune that nobody died as a result of this incident.”

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