A garden landscaper has been handed a suspended prison sentence after a worker sustained fatal injuries from a circular saw.

The labourer, who had been working for Watford-based gardener Fernando Araujo, was killed in the incident at a house in Rickmansworth, on 11 August 2021.

At the time of the incident, the 31-year-old was assisting Araujo with the installation of railway sleepers. He was using an angle grinder fitted with a toothed circular saw blade.

The grinder’s guard had been removed and was fitted with a larger blade, making it unsafe- the sleeper being cut was placed in a skip and unsecured while being cut.

As a result the tool kicked back under power into the worker’s groyne, causing him to sustain a fatal laceration.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive HSE found that Araujo failed to “ensure that work equipment was used only for operations for which, and under conditions for which, it was suitable.”

Araujo pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 (3) of Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Section 33(1)(C) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

He has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £3,467.72 in costs at St Albans Magistrates Court on 9 January 2024.

HSE inspector Jenny Morris says: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable, horrific death of a young man. It could easily have been prevented if the correct equipment was selected so that the wooden sleepers could have been cut safely.

“Power tools should be used safely and only for the purpose for which they have been designed.”