A Laurencekirk farm-owner was fined £8000 at Stonehaven Sheriff Court following an accident in which a worker’s toe was severed.
Andrew Walis (32) and Rhys Anderson, a partner in Burnton Farm, were spreading lime on a field on May 24 when the incident occurred.
The court heard on Wednesday that Mr Walis’s foot became trapped in a spreading machine after he was asked to stand inside the hopper to prevent the material inside from jamming.
He used a broom handle to keep the lime flowing for about an hour, but as the vehicle went over uneven ground he slipped and became trapped in the mechanism of the machine.
Mr Walis used his penknife to cut his boot and sock off and free his foot, which was so badly damaged a toe had to be amputated.
Two other toes were seriously injured and he required a skin graft before spending a week in hospital and a further three months off work.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the farm did not provide or maintain a safe system of spreading lime.
The family partnership that runs Burnton Farms of Burnton, Aberdeenshire, pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety rules.
HSE inspector John Radcliffe said, “Mr Walis’s life will always be affected by this totally avoidable incident.
“He should never have been asked to put his safety at risk by standing inside the machine so close to the moving parts without any protection.”
He added, “If his employers had used their common sense it would have been clear that they were asking Mr Walis to do something very unsafe and he was likely to be injured.”