The latest case report from the HSE;
A police force has been fined after one of its officers was hit by a passing car while responding to a traffic collision on Christmas Eve.
The 22-year-old was a student officer working for West Mercia Police when the incident happened on 24 December 2023. The officer had been responding to the traffic collision in Bridgnorth, Shropshire. That collision occurred on a single carriageway road that had no street lighting and where the national speed limit for the road was 60 mph.
The officer had been standing on a bend, managing traffic at the scene when he was hit by a passing car. He sustained life-threatening and life-changing injuries.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that West Mercia Police failed to do all that was reasonably practicable to manage the risks arising from or in connection with traffic collisions. The force’s risk assessments were not suitable and sufficient and it failed to provide adequate equipment for safely responding to traffic collisions.
There was also a lack of suitable information, instruction and training for its officers. As a result, employees and members of the public were exposed to unnecessary risks.
The Office of Chief Constable West Mercia Police, Headquarters, Hindlip Hall, Hindlip, Worcester, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The force was fined £85,800 and ordered to pay £9,402 in costs at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 20 February 2026.
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