Reading Festival promoters fined

All charges have been dropped against festival boss Melvin Benn

The company that organises the Reading Festival has been fined £4,000 after admitting health and safety breaches.

Reading Festival Ltd admitted two breaches after failing to carry out a proper risk assessment and failing to ensure the safety of workers.

The charges were brought after two men were hurt when a crane ran into power lines during preparations for the festival in August 2006.

The company has agreed to pay £21,769 in prosecution costs.

Men warned

Earlier, festival promoter Melvin Benn had more than 18 charges against him dropped by Reading Borough Council. He had been accused of failing to ensure the safety of contractors, but the council withdrew the charges.

The court was told that the two men operating the crane had been warned about the danger from the high voltage cables.

They were building a stage when the arm of the crane came into contact with the overhead wires and the men were thrown from the vehicle.

They were taken to hospital but had been saved from serious injury by a fuse which cut the power when the wire was broken.

'Over-prosecuted'

Counsel for the defendants admitted the organisers had failed by not drawing up a written hazard assessment that included the power cables among the hazards for those working on site.

But they said their clients had been "hugely over-prosecuted" when a total of 36 charges were brought against them.

Reading council itself had failed to spot the danger the cables posed and the festival organisers operated to a "gold standard" in navigating their way through a "health and safety minefield", the court heard.

Deputy District Judge Peter Greenfield said it was "rather strange neither the council nor the company took the time to realise there might be a hazard from the over-head wires".

"Luckily it wasn't as catastrophic as it might have been," he added.

Reading Borough Council said: "The council is satisfied the serious and overarching charges pleaded guilty to by Reading Festival Ltd today reflect the most serious aspects this case."