McDonald's has been fined a total of almost £40,000 after a worker was badly injured following a fall.

The company admitted breaching health and safety regulations at an outlet in Leicester during a hearing before Leicester magistrates.

The court heard that a 17 year old worker plunged an arm into a hot fat fryer after she tried to steady herself when she slipped on a piece of cardboard placed on the floor to soak up oil.

Katharine Vickery, McDonald's solicitor, said the company admitted that the cardboard strip should not have been used to soak up the oil.

Additionally she said there had been a failure to correctly complete an accident investigation form, a failure to complete a maintenance log for the filtering machine and overall there had been a failure to complete a falls risk assessment which would have averted the accident.

However Ms Vickery did add: "McDonald's has a strong health and safety culture."

She then added that since the accident the design of the kitchen had been altered and safety upgraded at a cost of more than £27,000.

McDonald's was fined £19,000 with £18,800 costs.

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By Andrew Smith

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