Investigation launched after Chorley Council worker severs end of finger while mowing

The incident, which happened yesterday, involved a Chorley Council worker from the authority's Bengal Street Depot.

He was working with a colleague in the Collingwood area of the town and it is believed he was operating a pedestrian mowing machine at the time.

A council spokesman said the injuries "as we understand" are that the top of one finger has been "severed" and another finger has been "damaged".

Asim Khan, Director at Chorley Council, said: "One of our colleagues was involved in an accident yesterday and we are now investigating what happened.

"Our priority is looking after their well-being and that of his colleague who was out on site with them yesterday.

"An initial investigation to establish the facts is underway and we will be notifying the Health and Safety Executive as part of our process.

"The health and safety of our staff, who work extremely hard to make our borough look beautiful, is of paramount importance to us and if there are any lessons that can be learned from what happened we will put them into practice.

"We’d also like to thank the member of the public who stopped to assist, it is very much appreciated."

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive - the UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare - confirmed they have not yet been informed of the incident.

They explained: "Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) duty holders have 10 days to notify us."

The investigation in to the incident will establish how the injuries occurred and who, if anyone, was responsible for what happened.