Hefty fine for guts spillage

Yorkshire haulage company transport Alba Transport has been fined more than £40,000 for breaching  health and safety regulations for spilling poultry offal on to roads.

Bradford Crown Court heard  eyewitness  reports  that, in 2009, skip trucks collecting waste from restaurants in Bradford spilled chicken offal on several occasions.

One pile of intestines was seen on a pavement near a school and on another occasion a motorcyclist skidded on the offal. Other residents described a strong smell of decomposition lingering for days.

In mitigaton, it  was  said that Alba Transport, part of the Leo Group,  was in the process of upgrading its fleet so that the problem could not re-occur.

Passing judgement, Judge Scott Wolstenholme said: “These offences are very serious. They cause considerable upset to members of the public concerned with the  disgusting sight and smell of animal blood and intestines strewn across the road.”

The company was fined £32,000 with costs of £9,500.

After the hearing, Alba Transport issued a statement which read: “We regret these accidents that have happened in the Bradford district. None of these were intentional and the waste material was not diseased, contaminated or hazardous.”